Chameleon
by LegendDairy
Summary: AU. It is now eight years after the Battle of Hogwarts and the Auror's are slacking. The UK is on the precipice of being ripe for the picking and the Head Auror has called in a ringer to whip his people into shape. Head Auror's from multiple countries have sung the praises of the Chameleon, now he's managed to secure this persons services for some alternative training experiences.
1. The Chameleon

**Disclaimer- I do not own Harry Potter**

The dim pink lights of the brothel and gentle sweet perfume smell set the mood as Auror's Seamus Finnegan, Jayson Andrews and their friend Dean Thomas entered the room. It was two in the morning and they had been several drinks in by the time they decided it was time to get laid. The girls at the bar were fairly easy for these roguish young men. But the two of them had been on assignment in the middle of no where for weeks and as single men in their mid-twenties they just wanted to fuck her and forget about her.

They'd all been to the Muggle brothel before, separately. And after a few shots Thomas had fessed up about his previous visit there. Finnegan and Andrews were more than willing to follow their stumbling friend to the establishment.

It was a different experience than what they'd all had before. They walked into the reception area and paid the rate then were led through to the dim pink bar room. Two scantily clad women occupied the room and no one else.

The last time they'd all come here the place had five or so other johns waiting for a go and one girl at a time coming in to take them by the hand to one of the five attached rooms. There had been a bar man, brighter lighting and it had been a little uncomfortable.

Now though, at the bar counter that ran along the back a brunette in a white mask was sitting legs crossed, smiling demurely. The other girl was standing atop the table which had a stripper pole in the middle, she had dark red hair and a darker red singlet, also an eye mask obscuring her face tastefully. She was dancing to the music playing seemingly not noticing their presence.

The three men glanced at each other.

The woman on the bar slinked off and towards them. She put a hand on Thomas' chest and stroked it up and down. He stared at her slack jawed. She was attractive with full lips and an amazing body. She smiled at him then turned to face Finnegan and pulled him closer by the belt.

"Tell me what you like." She purred.

The girl on the table gracefully got down from her perch with use of a chair and made a show of swaying her hips as she walked around Andrews and ran her hands up his back and into his hair. His eyes rolled back in his head. She moved her head close to his neck so he could feel her hot breath as she pressed herself up against his back, then gave a gentle lick to his earlobe.

"Tell me how you like it." She said in an extremely sultry voice.

The brunette was now pressing her bum against Thomas' front and had her arms draped around Finnegan. "We don't want" He started.

The red head grabbed his chin and kissed him silent. She pulled back slightly and took his bottom lip between her teeth gently for a moment. "Tell us what you do want. Your fantasy." She whispered the last part.

She turned back to Andrews. She ran her hands down his front to his trousers, then got to her knees in front of him. "Do you like your girls meek?" She looked up at him with innocent doe eyes.

The brunette spanked Finnegan. "Do you like it rough?"

The red head turned on her knees, crouched then raised her bum up Andrews leg to where his trousers now tented, then brought her torso up and leaned her back against him and ground her bum into his erection. "Do you like to be teased?"

The brunette threw Finnegan into a chair and straddled him. "Do you like when she's on top?" He groaned as she dry humped him.

The red head pulled Thomas to the wall and wrapped one of her legs around him as he pressed her up against the wall. "Do you like it vertical?"

"How do you like it?" He growled in want.

"The same way I like my martini's" She purred and kissed his neck. "Dirty." She whispered.

"Yes" he hissed and ground into her.

"Let me show you to your room" She smirked and licked his jaw line. She took his hand and led him to one of the doors. Upon opening it he saw there was already another woman in there. She was blond and fit with a lacy black bra and matching panties. "This is Vixen" The red head purred in his ear. She moved to stand behind him and undid his belt. "You'll like her." She whipped his belt off. "I know I do."

Thomas stepped forward and had the blond turned around and bent over by the time the red head had closed the door.

The brunette had deposited Finnegan in a room to be punished and Andrews was still standing there slack jawed. The red head and brunette made their way to him and one bit her lip while the other smiled sweetly. "Do you like to watch?" The red head asked him as she stroked the brunette's arm, then cupped her breast before slinking both hands down her side and playing with her panties, all the while locking eyes with Andrews.

He swallowed with difficulty. "Meek" he said.

The brunette stepped back from the red head and looked at him shyly, taking his hand and leading him through another door.

Once it was just the two girls the red head popped up from her crouched position and went out through the service door behind the bar. She stalked down a corridor and stopped into a change room to pull on jeans and a t-shirt then her jacket. She made her way to an office with two men in it. One was dressed in a snazzy suit; the other was dressed in all black observing the security monitors.

There were two cameras in the bar, and one in each of the bedrooms. "How was the show?" the red head asked.

"Mazing!" the security man said. "The dark one came so fast! Irish guy didn't take too long either."

The suited man gave her a once over, appreciating her curves and licking his lips. "Fluffers is a good call. Definitely will up our game." He handed her an envelope. "Sure you just want to consult? We could use you full time."

"Not a chance. Unlike the Irish man, I don't like to be tied down."

They laughed. She shook their hands and left.

()()()()()()()()

It was a crisp morning as a petite athletic woman in her early forties was out for a jog in Hyde park. She'd been pacing herself as she did her third loop of the pond area. Most of the parks occupants were out getting exercise like her, others were vagrants that call the park home. She was observing one such a person when she accidentally found herself tangled up in a dog leash.

She let out a surprised yelp as she tumbled to the ground with the dog's owner. Fumbling, they detangled themselves. "So sorry!" The owner said.

She was around the same age as the runner with dark hair and a heart-shaped face.

"No! I wasn't paying attention. I was looking…" the runner stopped talking and gestured to the tramp.

"Ah!" The dog owner nodded. The dog nuzzled the runner's hand.

"He looks to have survived unscathed." The runner ruffled the hair on top of the dog's head.

"She. Lola. Yes, she seems fine." The owner checked her dog over once more. It was unharmed and happily sniffing at the runner.

The runner woman gave it a scratch behind its ear. "Beautiful thing. Australian Sheppard?" She turned to the owner.

"Yes! You're familiar?" She was surprised. Though it wasn't an uncommon breed, she clearly didn't come across a lot of people who had guessed it right off.

"Don't know many breeds. Not really a dog person myself, but I do know that one. Wonderful temperaments they have, no?" The dog started playfully nipping at the runner's hand.

"Yes, we're quite pleased with her. When our young one demanded, we caved." The owner shrugged and rolled her eyes that were glistening with humor.

The runner laughed. "Just the one then?"

"Dog, or child? Because truth be told my husband can be a bit of both."

They both beamed at each other. "I'm familiar with that! Twelve years now I've been married and still can't train the bastard to either pick up his socks or leave the toilet seat down."

"I completely sympathize." The dog owner put on a mock serious expression.

"Well it was a pleasure running into you Lola." The runner said to the dog. "And I'll do my best not to get tangled up in any more leads today."

"Best of luck!"

Once the runner was well out of sight, she untucked the card she'd pick-pocketed from the waist line of her track pants and tucked it into her bra for safer keeping.

()()()()()()()()

The quaint little diner was only occupied by two other couples as Greyson Scrimgeour sat down with his wife for breakfast before they went their separate ways for the work day. She held a position at Gringotts and he was Head Auror. This little breakfast nook was where they routinely enjoyed their first meal of the day a few times a week.

"Can I start the two of you with a beverage?" The young waitress asked as they had seated themselves.

"Tea please, and a water." Mrs. Scrimgeour requested.

"Same for me." Mr. Scrimgeour conceded.

The waitress smiled and nodded, pulling the menu's out from under the napkin dispenser and handing them to the two diners. "I will be back in a moment, and here are your menu's. Can I hang your cloaks for you?" She held out her arm as they nodded and handed them over to her.

The meals had been enjoyable and the husband and wife had sat together in companionable silence, smiling at each other every so often. After fifteen years of marriage this time together was cherished. They had two rather loud children that were home from Hogwarts and old enough to look after themselves through the days in the summer, but quiet time for just the two of them was sacrosanct.

He paid for the meal, thanked the waitress and kissed his wife farewell before heading to the office.

()()()()()()()

Kids were everywhere in the Weasley Wizard Wheeze's shop. It was three weeks before school started and business was booming. Literally. The neighboring shops had called the DMLE on them again because the silencing spells around the building seemed to have worn out.

Auror's were sent to investigate. Dark wizard catchers is what they were supposed to be, but they were sent on menial jobs like this all the time too. Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley were the one's sent on this particular call due to the close nature of their relationship with the shop owners.

"Fred." Ron yelled at the frantic orange suited twin.

"Not Fred, and I don't have time for you right now." George hollered back as he levitated a replenishing stock to the shelves on the third floor, meanwhile also attempting to ring through a teenage girls purchases of love potion and a Fanged Frisbee.

"George" Harry called. "We've gotten complaints."

George looked over at the pair of them. He hadn't taken the time to notice that they were kitted out in their Auror robes. "What now? Get another love potion in your pumpkin juice?" He asked Harry and Harry blushed. That had been embarrassing. It wouldn't have been so bad had it not been a man that gave it to him.

"No. Noise complaint. Your silencing spells wore out." Ron told him.

George frowned. That shouldn't have happened. They'd re-done the spells every year at the same time. 'Maybe we have to do them twice a year?' George thought to himself.

"What's the hold up?" Fred popped up. "Lines building, there's mischief that needs managing and you two are slowing the process."

The kids were all getting steadily rowdier and a mother got shoved into the back of Harry and Ron as she fell to the ground. "Blasted children." She grumbled. "Three more weeks." She whispered under her breath. The Auror's couldn't help giving each other amused looks before helping her to her feet. "Thank you." She said to the two of them as another teen went running past her. "Alright. That's it!" She stomped her foot. "Aaron, I will be at the Apothecary. I expect to see you there in ten minutes." She hollered and stormed off.

"Silencing spells." Harry turned back to the twins. "Re-do them."

Fred gave George a confused look as Harry and Ron turned and made their way out of the chaos.

"Divide and conquer the neighboring shops?" Ron asked Harry indicating to the originators of the complaints against the Weasley Wizard Wheeze's.

"You want to get done faster so we can kip off for lunch, don't you?" Harry shook his head. After nearly fifteen years of friendship it wasn't hard to read his partner.

"Hell yeah! We've got that meeting at two. I plan to stuff my face and then sleep through it." Ron stated plainly.

Harry laughed and nodded as they went opposite ways to ensure the business owners on either side of WWW knew they wouldn't have the same disruptions tomorrow. As Harry approached the shop door a Fizzing Whiz Bang went off in his pocket. Sparks shot upwards and grazed his cheek. He hurriedly shrugged off the jacket and clutched his cheek grumbling as he waited for the infernal thing to finish going off.

Once he'd healed the burn on his cheek and the hole in his jacket, he grumbled to himself and forced a professional expression onto his face before he spoke to the unhappy shop owner and met back up on the street with Ron, who looked how he felt.

"Fizzing Whiz Bang?" Ron growled. Harry just nodded in response and glared at WWW. They both shook their heads in displeasure at the building and continued down the alley to have lunch at the Leaky Cauldron.

()()()()()()()

An average looking woman in an average looking brown suit strolled with confidence and a stern face through the atrium of the Ministry of Magic. She nodded to the guard and flashed her ID card, and made her way to the lift.

When the doors opened, there were already a few occupants. She nodded in greeting at one of them and smiled tightly. Once she'd entered, she turned and faced the lift doors.

One of the other occupants was already in a conversation with another. "By the way, mind telling mum that Audrey and I will be late for lunch on Sunday? We have an appointment with a Healer." Percy Weasley told his father puffing out his chest slightly. They had just returned from lunch obviously.

"Really?!" Arthur Weasley stage whispered. "Percy that's wonderful."

Percy swelled with pride. "I didn't say anything." He beamed.

"And nor will I. I promise." The older Weasley made a lip locking gesture.

The woman got off at her floor and took a cursory look around before she headed to the change rooms that connected to the gymnasium the Auror's used for their work-out's. They were required to maintain a certain level of physical fitness, and had access to this area 24 hours a day, every day. She entered through the door on the right. There were no key's needed, or spells to be cast to allow her in.

The woman's change room was empty of people, though it was obvious that there were some female occupants in the work-out area and there were some personal effects on and underneath the benches. The woman went locker to locker checking to see if any were unlocked.

Fifteen of them were empty, eight of them were locked and three were unlocked and occupied of possessions. The woman checked through all of the belongings, then took and replaced the wands she found with transfigured items. She pocketed the wands, took a few hairs from one of the Auror's hair brushes, checking first to make sure each hair was identical color and length with the each other. Then she left the change room and went back to the main part of the Ministry.

()()()()()()

All Auror's that were not on an assignment had assembled in the conference room. Head Auror Greyson Scrimgeour stood at the front looking over the lot of them. The sorry lot of them as far as he was concerned. Their world had been rid of known Death Eaters for two years now and it was as though all Auror's had turned into glorified security guards.

That was why he requested the Chameleon. The Chameleon was known to get things done. The Chameleon could find weaknesses and expose them. He needed the Chameleon to get these idiots in shape.

He had known the Chameleon by reputation only, and it had taken a lot to convince the person to come to London. Five months of back and forth and finally he'd gotten the person to agree to a two-week session in 'that miserable country' and now, the Chameleon was here.

The previous year Scrimgeour attended an international summit on security. It seemed like every other country's minister was raving about the success they'd had with the Chameleon. Every other English-speaking country anyways. Apparently, the Chameleon had ways of getting the job done that were coveted by the other Head Auror's, and had helped train their current Auror's in techniques and survival skills that hadn't been covered in basic training. The other leaders had been impressed, and eager to get this person back.

Whether the Chameleon was in the room now he didn't know. He had no idea what the Chameleon's name was or what he or she looked like, just that they would be there at 1400 hours to expose and embarrass them all.

"Alright, settle down." He yelled at them. "Means you too Finnegan." He eyed him directly. "I've called you all to discuss a serious matter. Pay attention." He waited a moment to ensure that everyone was eyes forward and silent. "Now. You've all been slipping. Our world may be rid of Dark Lords for the moment, but that doesn't mean that we can get as sloppy as the lot of you have been."

Some of the Auror's looked slightly sheepish, some looked confused, others looked defiant.

The Head Auror continued. "I've called in an expert to put you all through the paces. How many of you have heard of the Chameleon?" He felt quite a bit of pride in himself, knowing that some of the stories of the Chameleon had been gossiped about amongst his Auror's. He himself had made sure of that. He needed his team to take this seriously, and wanted to understand how lucky they were to be getting this person to re-up their training.

"I heard he took down the Australian/Thai prostitution ring." One person near the back commented.

"I heard _she_ infiltrated the last Death Eater encampment for us, and that's how we got in there for the take down." Another one said.

"I heard.."

"Enough." Scrimgeour stopped them. "The Chameleon has a lot of notable achievements under their belt, and you lot are going to be tested." He accentuated his point.

"They already have been." A female voice called out from the second row. She was seated between Ron Weasley and Megan Poppington.

"Auror Davis?" Scrimgeour asked.

"I'm back here." Auror Davis called out a little unsteadily from the back row.

"As I was saying." The fake Susan Davis said from the second row as she stood. "They've already been tested. And failed."

"Hey!" the real Susan Davis called out realizing someone was using her likeness.

The fake Susan Davis made her way to the podium beside the Head Auror. She faced the room. "Did no one notice there were two Susan Davis' in this room?"

"There are over fifty people in the room. We would have." Auror Weasley defended.

"And how long do you think it'll be before you find it suspicious that a silencing spell that should have lasted over a year, lasted only eight months at the Weasley Wizard Wheeze's?" This person asked Auror Weasley with narrowed eyes.

"Eight months?" Auror Potter asked confused. Her gaze lingered on him a moment.

"That's right. But you didn't know that, because you didn't ask. Even though both of the owners seemed so surprised when you told them." She waited a moment to let that sink in.

"How did you" Auror Weasley started.

"You were there?" Auror Potter asked at the same time.

"Yes." The person stated. "And not going back after the explosive devices went off in your pockets in favor of lunch proves just how lazy you lot have gotten."

"Not all of us have gotten lazy!" Auror Lupin argued. She was sitting three rows back on the other side of the room from Weasley and Potter.

"Really?" The fake Auror Davis narrowed her eyes. "And where is your ID card Tonks? Did it go missing after your dog walk this morning?" Auror Lupin's jaw went slack and her hair turned from blue to mousy brown in the shock.

"See! This is what I'm talking about." Greyson started in on them, he was still at the podium.

"Actually, you best be taking a seat too, as I served you breakfast this morning and I nicked this." She tossed him his Muggle pen.

"You? You were the waitress?" He said dumbfounded as he robotically went to take a seat in the front row.

A few of the Auror's sniggered. "No one should be laughing right now. This is disgraceful. Especially Finnegan and Andrews. You two better wipe those smiles off your faces right now before I tell everyone what you were up to in the early hours of the morning."

Their eyes went wide. "You. You overheard us at the pub?" Andrews asked.

She smiled demurely at them in her borrowed face. "No darlings. But I did manage to plant the idea in your friends head for what you did after the pub. See I knew a few Auror's had been there before and through the subtle art of suggestion I figured your drunken brains would lead you back there."

"So… you saw us go in?" Finnegan asked hopefully.

"Well I did see each of you walk in the bar room if that's what you mean." She locked eyes with Finnegan. "In fact, you know how I like my martini."

He was so shocked he actually fell out of his chair. Finnegan stood up in outrage. "You used Polyjuice to impersonate a Muggle prostitute?!" The room was completely silent. Full of shocked faces staring at her.

"No." She said slowly with confidence. "That was my body. And at the time I was acting as a fluffer consultant, not a prostitute. Got paid well for it too." She smirked. She addressed the room again. "I used Polyjuice for all but two of my interactions today. I've mentioned all of them. Consult with each other. See if you can figure out my name by the time this Polyjuice wears off. You have five minutes."

Finnegan turned to Andrews. "Which one was she?" he asked him.

"I heard her say that bit about the martini to Dean. She was the red head." Andrews confirmed.

"She could have used a glamour on the hair. Describe her frame." Lupin told him.

"Fucking hot." Andrews said and Lupin threw something at him as the fake Davis stood checking the clock in the room.

"Tick Tock."

"Five foot four-ish. Freckles. Smooth skin. Solid C cup. Athletic." Andrews listed off.

"Freckles could be faked. I had a run in with someone like that, but she was brown haired and about forty."

"No, she was definitely about the same age as me." Finnegan confirmed.

"My waitress was early twenties, ginger, light freckles. Very pretty and athletic build." The Head Auror commented.

"Four minutes"

"How are we supposed to get your name if we can't ask you any questions?" Someone in the back called out.

"Who said you can't ask me any questions? You have a person of interest. Interrogate, you morons." The Chameleon berated them. She was not happy with the group already.

"Did you go to Hogwarts?" One Auror asked.

"Yes."

"When did you graduate?" Another asked

"A while ago." She answered evasively.

"There is no way that the Chameleon is a twenty something year-old girl!" A male voice said from somewhere around the middle of the room.

"Hey. She called you Tonks, Lupin. Maybe you know her!" Someone else said.

"Obviously a Slytherin." Auror Weasley huffed.

"Two minutes." She called out.

"Hey! It should be three." Andrews told her.

She shrugged. "I lied. People do that some times. Might even be less. I'm starting to feel tingly."

"Alright. Potentially Slytherin, about twenty-five. Ginger. Any guesses?" Scrimgeour asked.

Finnegan, Weasley and Potter looked at each other.

"The only ginger in our year was Susan Bones." Potter said.

"That was definitely not Susan Bones last night." Finnegan confirmed. "Besides, she was a Hufflepuff. Can you see the Chameleon being a Hufflepuff?"

"Shall I turn my back on you all and do a grand reveal?" She teased with a deadpanned tone.

"Year ahead of us?" Potter asked.

"Don't remember any." Weasley answered.

"Year below?"

"Just my sister." Weasley said.

"Well, she's a ginger." Finnegan pointed out. "And a Slytherin."

"You really thing that selfish evil bitch has been traipsing all over the world putting an end to dark wizards under a code name?" He asked Finnegan incredulously.

"Well, where has she been for the last seven years then?" He snapped back.

"Fuck it! Ginny Weasley." Lupin called out just as the Polyjuice potion wore off.

Ginevra Weasley stood in front of the stunned mass of Auror's with an amused expression that didn't quite meet her eyes. "Congratulations. As a reward, here is your ID card back." She tossed it back. She removed the cloak she'd been wearing to reveal her form fitting jeans and a long-sleeved shirt.

"How did you get my hair?" Susan Davis yelled.

"Same way I got your wand. That in you pocket is useless. Unless you have a purpose for a transfigured spork. You really should lock your belongings up when you hit the gym." She admonished her.

"We're at the Ministry!"

"So am I. And as my brother just pointed out, I am an evil bitch. I got in here with out breaking a sweat. You lot have turned into the laziest bunch of law enforcement I've ever met. And I worked in South Africa two years ago. Talk about easily corruptible." She turned to Finnegan and Andrews. "Do you two not realize that Muggle brothels have surveillance cameras? Perfect blackmail material that is." She narrowed in on Finnegan. "I doubt you even though about that after your two minutes last night, did you Finnegan?"

"You watched?!" He yelled, scandalized.

"I told you I'm dirty." She winked.

At that point she came around the podium with the cloak over her arm. "Now. I have been asked to stay for two weeks, as you know, to re-teach you Alastor Moody's tag line and hope it sticks. If you have any questions for me ask them now while I pass back all the shit I stole from you in the last 24 hours."

"Where did you go after Hogwarts?" She heard a male voice call out.

"New Zealand. I was recruited to their Auror program after one of their own saw me during a bar fight." She answered.

"You were helping break it up?" The same voice asked, confused.

"No, I was winning it. Too bad I was sloshed at the time and the Auror managed to disarm me on the beach afterwards."

"So, you're good at muggle fighting?" Auror Lupin asked.

"I was good then. I am highly skilled now. Muggle and magical." She answered honestly.

"How'd you get started. They didn't teach that at Hogwarts." Auror Lupin continued as Ginny Weasley passed her table and handed another female Auror her wand back.

She clenched her jaw and gave a momentary sneer at the question. "When I, as a _blood traitor_, got sorted into Slytherin I had to learn hexes and curses really fast in order not to wind up in the hospital wing every week."

"The other Slytherin's attacked you?" Andrews asked tentatively.

"Of course they did." She said, almost dismissively. "And by the time Mouldy Voldy re-appeared after the Tri-Wizard Tournament, I had started to become, as Auror Andrews put it, fucking hot, I had to learn evasive maneuvers as well."

"The Professors didn't protect you?" Auror Potter asked, he actually sounded slightly concerned.

Ginny let out a single laugh as she returned to the front. "They didn't give a shit about me." She shook her head. "You know I had rather expected more questions about what I've accomplished as an Auror. Not how I managed to leave Hogwarts with my virtue still intact."

She saw a few heads turn to look at Ron. He'd been the source of several awful rumors about her. She knew. "Now then. If that's all. I will go over answers to the questions that you should have been asking. I'll be taking you lot in teams of twenty or so for an hour a day. I'll be going over tactics, scenarios and past cases, mistakes and how they were handled. Most of what I will cover may never have been taught to you. I will be testing you on your abilities as Aurors. Not just during the training sessions either. Many of you may wind up in St. Mungo's if you don't start to practice what _was _taught to you in basic training though." She picked up a marker from the podium and threw it at Finnegan who was still looking at Ron. "CONSTANT VIGILANCE"

A few people sniggered. "Before I dismiss you, I'll also let you know as I went around the room, I cast a compulsion charm on everyone. You are now unable to disclose any information that could give away my identity as the Chameleon." She rolled her eyes at the call sign.

"How did you do that?" Scrimgeour asked her incredulously.

She looked him in the eye. "Magic." She deadpanned. "You're all going to receive an owl later about which group you are in for the sessions. Anyone who winds up seeking medical treatment from something I did over the next two weeks will automatically be excused from the sessions. It will be up to the Head Auror then if you should go through your Auror training again. If you'll all excuse me, I have to go to a brothel to retrieve some surveillance footage."

"Couldn't you have done that last night?" Andrews asked worried.

"I'm fucking busy, and you were still busy fucking when I left." She said dismissively. "Your office?" She asked Greyson.

He blinked at her as she turned and walked out of the room. "Right" He composed himself quickly. "You heard her. Get back to work. You'll all receive word about your assigned teams for the training sessions later.

()()()()()()

Ginny stopped at their staff kitchen and waved her wand over the coffee pot. It was free of any poisons and smelled delicious. She'd been up for hours, and though she'd trained her body to function for at least 36 hours before completely crashing, she didn't enjoy it. Caffeine was necessary.

She poured herself a cup, then slipped some powder in the rest of the nearly full pot. Swiftly she made her way to the Head Auror's office and reclined on the love seat facing to, but farthest away from, the door. She rested an arm over her eyes and tilted her head back on the cushion.

"You are twenty-four?" She hummed in response and sipped her coffee. "And the youngest Weasley. What is it your parents think you are doing?"

"What does that matter?" She peered at him under her arm. He was a distinguished looking chap, currently he seemed a little out of his element in what to do with her. She was used to that though. Every new place she'd been sent to, each of her knew Head's would look at her and wonder what they hell they'd signed up for.

"It doesn't." He faltered. "Just curious. If my daughter was running around infiltrating gangs and the like I would want to know."

"I'll be sure not to call you 'Daddy' then." She saw his jaw clench. She smiled slightly with amusement and exhaustion then dropped her arm back down. "What if it was your son?"

"How do you know I have a son?" She just looked at him with tired eyes. "Right. Let's just organize times and teams. Also, I like the re-training idea, but hospitalization?"

She shrugged. "They won't be permanently damaged, and it is only if they have to go to St. Mungo's. If they can bounce back on their own, they get a pass." There was a big commotion outside and he hurried out, she groaned standing up and sauntered after him, leaning against the door jamb to observe.

"Peters, Stevens, and DeRabbie have all collapsed. They appear to have been poisoned." One of the newer Auror's informed Scrimgeour.

He turned around to Ginny. "You already started?"

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Real crack-up team you have here." She took a sip of her coffee. He was looking as though he didn't know whether to get mad at her or not. This was part of the reason he'd called her in. She sighed and rolled her eyes. "The poison is non-lethal. Shall we continue?" And she went back into the office.

()()()()()()()()

After Scrimgeour dismissed them Harry grabbed Ron by the upper arm and dragged him out of the room. Seamus and Jayson were right behind them. Harry led them into a small conference room and placed several silencing spells and a detection charm for any listening spells.

"Bloody hell mate! The Chameleon is… your… that's who… bloody compulsion charm. I can't say anything." Seamus fumed.

Ron was sitting there in shock. Harry sat down and was in very much the same state. "Have we really slacked off that much?" Jayson asked. "I mean, I noticed the change at the brothel. It was a fucking dream come true, especially from how it was before!" He snorted a bit. "Two minutes?" He teased Seamus. "And you didn't have Red and the brunette alone together. Holy fuck. I almost came in my pants!" Andrews exclaimed.

"Hey! I don't want to hear that!" Ron yelled.

They ignored him. "How come you took so long then?" Seamus asked him.

Jayson blushed. "Paid for another go" he mumbled.

Harry was very uncomfortable with this talk. Truth be told he'd had a little crush on Ginny since his fifth year through to when she vanished, but there was a definite line drawn with Ron in regards to her. As soon as she was sorted into Slytherin the Weasley boys had turned on her. The few times he saw her during her first few years of school she had been alone and stone-faced.

Apparently her first few months there she'd essentially told her whole family to fuck off and leave her alone. She only saw them during the summers, and had kept to herself the whole time. She'd only really come down for meals and to do her assigned chores.

His crush had started when he came across her in the pond at the Burrow. One could say he was a bit of a peeping Tom that day. He'd bolted behind a tree when he realized she was floating in the water in her bra and knickers. She'd developed, and he'd wanked to that image for months. Her pert nipples and creamy skin, completely relaxed. She was beautiful then, and she was beautiful now. Her cold demeanor hadn't put him off her, even after all these years.

Ron and the twins had told all sorts of awful stories about her while they were at school, everything that 'should have been an indication'. Though the more Harry thought about it, the twins had done way worse and people had laughed. She wasn't alone with having falsities passing around about her though, Harry, Ron and Hermione had been black listed and become 'Undesirables' during the war, and they were the good guys. But her name had never been linked as someone 'good' in this country since she was ten.

Ginny's implications back in the conference room had been that she'd been martyred the entire duration of her schooling, and she'd only just managed to escape school with her maidenhood.

Harry felt terrible. She'd been shunned, bullied, abused and alone. He'd done nothing to stop it. She was him when he was at the Dursley's. Except he came out the other end of it with a new family that loved him like a son. Her family. The one that had cut ties with her.

Then a horrible though came to him. "Malfoy and Zabini" he said aloud.

Ron looked up at him confused. "They're out on assignment."

"Yes, but what if they come back before she's done with training us?" He asked worried

"Mate, she handled them at school, I'm sure she can handle them now." Seamus said.

Harry nodded. She'd definitely been quite capable. Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zabini had both been excused in their trials and went through Auror training with the rest of them. Zabini hadn't ever taken the Dark Mark like Malfoy had. The two of them had actually done some serious damage to the Death Eater numbers that night at the Battle of Hogwarts. Over the years they'd actually become quite the laugh to go out to the pub with. Hell, he'd even had a competition with the two of them on more than one occasion when it came to picking up a witch to go home with. Now he had to wonder if they'd ever been the one's Ginny had had to fend off.

()()()()()()

Ron was numb. His sister was one of the top Auror's in the world. If the stories were to be believed then her arrest rate was higher than his and Harry's combined, and it spanned several countries. Word had been that the Chameleon only stayed in one country for a year before moving on and helped infiltrate large criminal operations where ever she went.

The Weasley family hadn't ever looked into where Ginny had gone. The day of her graduation they hadn't even been there, and she'd vanished straight after. His chest was constricting at the thought. Three days after she'd left they got an international Owl from her. All it said was 'Thanks for paying my tuition these past seven years. GW'.

The only other time they knew she was even still alive was because they'd all received wedding presents from her. No notes, just a standard 'Congratulations' card signed G.W. None of them knew how she was keeping track of them, and still they didn't try to contact her. They were all too stubborn.

He couldn't even tell if his mum and dad were heart broken over that relationship any more. The first year of her schooling she'd been right nasty with them. Then the first summer she was home from school she kept breaking things, or setting things aflame. One summer she'd even attacked Ron when he came into the kitchen with out provocation. That one might have been the last straw for them.

Hermione had asked him about her every time she looked at the piece of art they'd received for their wedding. It was a beautifully framed giant maple leaf with a couple holding hands etched into it. She'd hung it in their sitting room. Still Ron didn't look into her.

It had never occurred to him how tortured she might have been. Slytherin = Bad. That was that. So, to a twelve-year-old Ron every prank, every tattle tale and every temper tantrum had been vicious and cruel. The stories that he and the twins had spread about her were exaggerated with each re-telling. Then she hit puberty and he saw the boys grabbing for her, or leering. Rumors reached him about what she was willing to do for a Galleon, and he believed it. His mum and dad believed it.

That whole time she'd been fighting tooth and nail, making her what she was today.

He couldn't help it. He put his face in his hands in shame.

**AN- Hope this was intriguing enough for you. Had a time trying to figure out which category this would fall under for the 'genre'.**

**Ginny's altered history from the books will be explained in later chapters. The chapters will alternate between her past and present.**


	2. First Year

**Disclaimer- I don't own Harry Potter**

**Hogwarts- First Year**

Ginny was so excited to be going on the Hogwarts Express with four of her brothers this year. She'd waited for this day for as long as she could remember. She was positively bouncing with anticipation and almost forgot to kiss and hug her parents good bye before running to find a compartment, and hopefully some friends!

She'd been hearing all of the amazing stories over the years and was eager to start her own adventures. Ron had his two best friends, and they'd gotten up to some really crazy stuff in their first year. Fighting a Mountain Troll, escaping a Dragon, and then saving the Philosophers Stone! She doubted her first year would be as exciting as all that.

The twins always had great stories too. She was looking forward to seeing the Poltergeist, and all of the other Hogwarts ghosts. Maybe if she was smooth enough about it, they'd let her in on some of their pranks. She could be really good at pranking too. She knew she could.

She found a lone compartment and took a seat, waiting and hoping that someone her age would come in and then they could become friends.

In an effort not to look so eager, she pulled out her Diary. She'd found it in with her school books, and suspected that her mother had put it there as a surprise for her. Her wand was second hand, her clothes were second hand, and this Diary was second hand. But the amazing thing about this second hand item is that _it wrote back_.

Ginny had been amazed when she'd written in it a few days before they were due to leave for the school and it corresponded back. The writer was named Tom and he had been to Hogwarts himself. He told her all about the teachers and his classes. He seemed like such good fun. She really felt like she already had a friend.

So now, she would write to him while she waited to see who she would be sitting with. Maybe he could tell her some more stories about Hogwarts too!

"I am so excited to be going to Hogwarts! I've been waiting for this day forever! Having to watch all of my brothers going off and having great adventures while I was stuck at home was the worst. I really hope that I will get included in all of their fun now that I'm eleven and old enough for everything.'

'Do you want to show them just how old and mature you are now? I think you and I should play a prank on them. It will be one for the ages. What do you say?'

She hoped he would be able to teach her some fun tricks! This was going to be great. 'Oh absolutely. Tom, you and I are going to have so much fun this year! What did you have in mind?'

'I will teach you a spell. First, place your hand on the diary and you will need to completely relax. Do you trust me?'

'I do. Just tell me what to do next.' She put her left hand on as much of the next page as she could and let out a sigh, shaking her shoulders to relieve any tension.

'Ok. Hand placed, completely relaxed. Now you will need to close your eyes and breath deeply and count to ten.'

She wasn't sure what kind of spell this could possibly be. She had her wand on her, but he hadn't written down any spell to say, and her wand wasn't in her hand. She shook her head, closed her eyes and relaxed. There was an abrupt whooshing sensation and her head lolled back, as though she had instantly fallen asleep. She jerked her head back forwards.

When Ginny opened her eyes she was in a room sitting cross legged on the floor. The train was gone and there was no noise. She looked around to try and figure out what was going on. This room was so plush and fancy. Was this part of the prank? How did this happen?

The room had a big four poster bed and deep red armchairs. There were books completely covering one wall, and no artwork anywhere. There were no windows and no doors. Panic was starting to set in. She checked her arms and legs for any lacerations or bruises, anything that could indicate some kind of trauma had occurred. She closed her eyes and breathed deep for another ten seconds and opened them to find herself still in the room.

Ginny stood and went to one of the bare walls and placed her hand against it. It wasn't wallpapered, it wasn't stone. It was soft. A soft red material of some sort. She pushed against it and it accepted her hand. She pulled her hand back and it came out, completely unharmed.

The last she could remember she was writing in the diary. Maybe the diary was on the bookshelf and she could write in it again and it would take her back out of this room!

She sprinted over to the book shelf and started pulling all of the books down. She recognized all of them, none of them however were the diary. Flipping open some of the pages the books seemed to be only half filled. The printing was there, but the books only contained the parts that she remembered of them.

She thought that maybe if she screamed someone might hear her. So, she let loose several loud cries and pleads for help for what felt like hours. Nothing. The room didn't even echo. She was getting ever so tired. The bed was there. For an unknown reason she hadn't been hungry or thirsty, or in need of a bathroom, she was just tired. And she had no idea how long she'd been in the room so far. There were no time pieces.

She went over to the bed and laid down. Perhaps when she awoke she would be able to figure this out, or someone will have come to find her, but she could think of nothing but sleep right then.

"Rise and shine Ginevra." Said a calm and beautiful voice.

Ginny opened her eyes and saw a handsome boy was sitting on the edge of the bed. He had dark hair and a sharp jawline with a soft smile. His face was kind, but there was something about his dark eyes that made him slightly unsettling. He was wearing a Hogwarts uniform though.

"You've found me!" She sat up excitedly. It had taken her a moment to remember what had happened before she drifted off to sleep.

His smile went wider. "Yes, I've found you. And you have been very helpful to me. Thank you for trusting me so much."

Ginny was confused. Who was this boy, and when had she trusted him? "What do you mean? Have you come to get me out of here?"

"Oh no, this is your home for the not too distant future. This is your mind. I've taken over most of you, but I can't do away with you completely just yet, so this will be your space." He said as though she was supposed to know what he meant.

"But. But I was on my way to Hogwarts. What do you mean I'm in my mind?"

"Don't fret about the details Ginevra. I was trapped in that diary for over forty years. This is much nicer. You should be pleased. You are so very _special._"

The bottom dropped out of Ginny's stomach. He could be only one person. No one else had ever called her special. But it was impossible. How could the person she'd been corresponding with for only a few days possibly have taken her over? "Tom?"

He slid closer to her and cupped her cheek. "Oh no, don't cry little one." His thumb wiped away a tear that she hadn't realized had escaped from her eye. She was cold with horror. "Maybe some good news would cheer you up?"

She swallowed in response. Was this all a dream? Was that the good news? This horrible nightmare was going to go away. She had simply fallen asleep in the train car and she would wake up at Hogsmeade station and take the boats to the castle with all of the other first year students.

"The prank that we talked about went marvelously." He spoke to her patronizingly with a forced grin on his face.

"What-what prank was that?" She was terrified. Her whole body had run cold, though there was no cold or hot in the room. It was just the horror seeping through her blood.

"You were sorted into Slytherin." He beamed. "Isn't that hilarious? Your brothers certainly had a lot to say to you after the sorting feast." His smile dropped to one of obviously false concern. "Why, you almost missed how to get down to the Slytherin common room. That would have been bad."

Ginny launched herself at him with everything she had. "What did you do to me? Why are you doing this? Let me out of here!" She kicked and punched as hard as she could. Tom being twice the size of her easily pinned her to the mattress and held her there until she went slack. "What do you want from me?" She finally cried out, sobbing.

"I needed your body." He watched as her horror reflected on her face. "Ugh, not like that, you stupid girl. I required a body in order to get my life back. Any body would have done. You were just the doe eyed trusting girl fortunate enough to allow me to take over." The pushed off of her and strode over to the disarrayed bookshelf. "The conversations with your brothers were interesting. They all seemed to think that the sorting hat had made a mistake, and were eager to have it rectified. I informed them otherwise. Told them all about how you hated coming from a family of blood traitors and now it was time to blaze your own path. It was quite helpful that the second we sat down at the Slytherin table we were instantly harassed by the older students. Gave me quite the fodder for getting those imbecilic morons to back off. They are quite angry with you right now."

"Why would you do that?" She sat up and gripped on to one of the four posters like a life line.

"I can't have them pestering me incessantly. I have things to do." He gazed down at his nails in a pompous fashion.

"How is it that you are here right now?"

"Ah my dear. Sleep is the only time we'll meet. Your body is currently tucked nicely into bed. I was sure to make the other girls love you." A flash of malice twinkled in his eye.

"I want out of here! Give me my body back!" She jumped off the bed and grabbed book after book to throw at him. He deflected every one of the books and made his way over to her and slapped her right across the face.

Pain reverberated through her skull and she cupped her cheek as she fell to the floor. She looked over at him in shock. But he too was cupping his cheek. It appeared that any pain he inflicted on her he felt it too. She made to lunge at him and tackle him to the floor, but he disappeared. She went flying through the air and landed on the book covered floor.

She lay there sobbing for a long time, then pulled herself over to the bed and curled up in a ball to cry herself to sleep.

Hours, Days, Weeks, Months. Ginny had no concept of time stuck in the room. Her 'waking' periods were filled with half written books, and screaming herself hoarse. The hope was that she would give her body a headache. When she herself found her head was pounding, she grinned in satisfaction, and kept going until it felt like her head was going to split open. If she was in this much pain, then so was Tom.

He did not come back to visit her. She tried to figure out the difference between night and day, but there was nothing to indicate it. She gave herself paper cuts with the book pages, but anything more damaging than that seemed impossible, she'd tried.

Then Ginny tried something that seemed completely insane. She flew at the wall.

It had allowed her to sink her hand into it before, perhaps it would take her whole body. Fear had stopped her from trying it earlier. She felt sure she would suffocate. And if she died in here, she didn't know if that would mean that he too died, or would he just take full possession of her body?

At this point, she was up for trying anything. She stood at the far end of the room and hopped up and down, trying to get momentum then went for it. She barreled across the room and dove at the wall. Her hands went through, her head went through, then her 'body' followed. It was like being born again. Squeezed tight from all sides until suddenly she was standing in some kind of dungeon. Other people were there.

She was in a dark corridor and there were other people around her. She looked down at herself. She was wearing a Hogwarts uniform. She wanted to jump up and down with glee, but she was suddenly knocked to the floor by a force from behind.

"Watch where you're going Weaslette." Said a deep male voice. "You don't know when something might happen that could _hurt_ you." The voice said threateningly.

She looked up at the person. He was much older than her, and also wearing a uniform, but she didn't have a clue who he was. Her books had strewn across the floor and her immediate impulse was the put them back in her bag. She reached for them, but the second her hand touched the diary she was suddenly back in the room.

Standing in the room again, Ginny had to remind herself to breath.

She had done it. She had figured out how to get out of there. Now she knew it was possible, she just couldn't touch the Diary again. She was going to get out! But right then she was completely drained, despite figuring out how to gain control of her body back she had no energy whatsoever to try it again at that moment and sank into the bed instantly. The comfort of the blankets and pillows drew her in, and she closed her eyes.

When she awoke, he was there, and he was shaking her. "How did you do it? You shouldn't have been able to force me out like that. How did you do it?"

Tom was leaning over her with his hands on her shoulders, his nails digging into her. She managed to blink the sleep out of her eyes and looked at him with all the hatred she felt for him. "You are going to burn in hell. I am going to make sure of it."

He slapped her again. This time it was stronger than the last. They both moaned in pain, but she lept from the bed and went to the wall opposite her exit and ran once more, diving into it. She fell through the wall and back into her body, the force of her taking over again launched her out of her bed and onto the floor. She knocked her head on the side table with a crack.

"Keep it down you fucking idiot." Something was thrown at her. She barely noticed due to the shivers that were running down her spine. She was back in her body. Something warm and wet was rolling down her face. She stumbled to her feet and swayed slightly, trying to adjust to the nauseating feeling overtaking her.

She saw a doorway and went towards it, grasping on to every surface available on the way to try and keep herself upright. The doorway lead to a bathroom. It was a standard bathroom, one tub with shower, and a toilet and a sink. She was freezing, and her teeth were chattering. Ginny turned on the shower and stepped into it fully clothed. The sensation of hot water cascading down her skin was a dream unto itself. While trapped in the room there were no sensations. Just numbness and pain. The hot jets streaming out of the shower head massaged her skin and she pressed her face against the cool tile.

She was back. This was her body.

Now she just had to get her life back in order. Undo all the things that Tom had done.

She stepped out of the shower and picked up all the wet clothes that she had peeled off herself. She put them in the sink and wrapped a towel around her. The mirror showed her the face of a pale girl, she had a horizontal gash on her forehead that had a little blood still dripping out of it. There were only a few freckles gracing her nose, and this girl was rather skinny.

Ginny was shocked. The last time she'd looked in a mirror had been the day she got on the Hogwarts Express. She had brushed her hair shiny and was covered in freckles from playing out in the sun all summer. Her face had been lit up in excitement. This girl looking back at her in the mirror now though. That was Tom's Ginny. She was a whole other person.

Ginny retreated back from the mirror and went back into the dorm room. There were six beds. Ginny couldn't remember which one she'd fallen out of. She squinted in the darkness and made out the form of sleeping girls in all but one of the beds, hers obviously. Quickly she rushed over and opened the drawers in the nightstand to find her clothes. Her feet were freezing on the stone floor, but she was still happy to feel the cold.

After dressing she carefully lifted up her pillows. If there was anything that Ginny herself would cherish, she would stick it under her pillow. And there she found the diary. And her wand! It was still so new to her that she'd almost forgotten about it. She was a witch and had magic coursing through her veins. How had she forgotten about her wand? She snatched it up and held it to her heart with her eyes closed. Tears were running down her face with the relief.

But what to do about the diary? She couldn't touch it, but she had to get rid of it. Very carefully she picked up her towel and covered the diary with it, making sure to fold the cotton material over it as many times as possible. She held it in both hands, and stayed where she was. The room didn't change, and Tom didn't come out to shake her shoulders again.

She lit up her wand and found her way out of the room. She had to find someone, Dumbledore. He would know what to do. He would also be able to explain what had happened to her, and get her re-sorted into Gryffindor. Patch up whatever happened between her and her brothers. Surely her parents would have tried to find out why their daughter was no longer behaving like herself.

She wandered around outside the dorm, the corridors all seemed to take turns to dead ends. Finally, she found what looked to be a common room, but it was empty. It clearly was the dead of night. There was what looked to be an exit at the back of the room, she strode towards it and the stone wall opened for her. For a second, she wondered if she would be able to get back in, but then shook her head at the thought. She would never have to come back here.

Ginny had heard that the Slytherin common room was underground, so she should have expected all of the stone passageways, but it went on and on forever. Finally, she came upon a set of stairs that led to a wider corridor. The next floor up seemed to be at ground level. At least the hall was wider and the ceiling higher. Ginny was freezing now.

"Are you lost?"

Ginny spun around to the voice. It was a young girl ghost. She had big eyes and droopy hair. Her clothing made it seem like she may have been from only a few decades ago.

"Yes, please! Can you tell me how to get to the hospital wing, or the headmasters office?" Ginny pleaded.

"You're that mean girl everyone is talking about, aren't you?" The morose girl eyed her up and down. "Why should I help you?"

"I'm mean? I have been mean to you?" Ginny didn't know what to think. Tom had made her be mean to the ghosts?

"You don't think you have? I heard that howler from you mum. Your parents don't seem to like you much anymore. Nobody liked me when I was alive. Nobody likes me now, but I was never mean." The girl seemed to pull some pride out of her statement.

"Please. I'm not actually a mean person. I've been possessed. I've just come out of it. Please, I'm lost, and I'm cold, and I've a head wound. Please, just tell me where to go from here." She begged.

"Possessed?" The girl ghost sniffed. "I don't believe you." She floated through the wall.

"Girl, you shouldn't be out of bed at this hour!" A large man in a portrait of a study barked at her.

"Please, help me. I need to find the nurse." She was in tears now.

"Right then. Woman's troubles is it?" The portly man sniffed. "Follow me."

Ginny followed the man as he went from portrait to portrait, up stairs and down halls until they were at the entrance to the hospital wing.

Ginny thanked the man and pushed open the door. "Hello?" She whispered. There were several curtains drawn around beds. It was completely quiet though. She paused. It seemed so odd, but she couldn't quite figure out why. There wasn't even the sound of the occupants breathing. She pulled back one of the curtains carefully and saw that it was a boy about her age, and he was frozen like a statue.

She closed that curtain and went on to the next. Same thing there. The boy was frozen. And the next had a frozen girl, after that another frozen girl. It was like there had been some kind of epidemic. The last girl seemed familiar to her. She looked closer at the shocked expression on her face. She was the girl in Ron's photo from last year. This was Hermione Granger, his muggle-born friend.

Hermione had something clutched in her hand she noticed when she looked down. Ginny looked closely and saw it was a piece of parchment. She was curious, why had no one taken it out of her hand? She tugged at it a bit and managed to get it out. It was the definition for a Basilisk with 'pipes' written on it.

There was a Basilisk loose at the school? That is why there were frozen students? How many had died? Why didn't the professors just purchase a bunch of roosters to roam the school and kill the thing?

She pulled the last curtain closed and found the office. Knocking lightly, she pushed the door open, but there was no one there. The nurse must have gone to bed. Ginny sat in her chair and rested her head on the desk. She wanted to stay awake. She'd spent who knew how long asleep trapped in her mind. She looked around the office and spotted the calendar. It was the middle of May.

May.

She'd been possessed for more than eight months? Nausea hit her like a tidal wave. She ran over to the bin and threw up the contents of her stomach. Tom had used her and done God knows what for the last forty weeks. Would anyone believe her if she told them?

She sat in the corner and rocked back and forth. She was there until the sun came up and the nurse came in and screamed at the shock of her presence.

"Right, that's enough from you!" The nurse yelled at her. She yanked her up to her feet and pulled the bundle from her hands, unwrapping it and ignoring Ginny's protests. The nurse saw that it was just a book and wrapped it back up shoving it at her.

Ginny didn't know what she'd done. Had Tom brought her here several times?

"Off to the headmaster with you." She hauled her up by her ear and off to the headmaster's office.

Ginny couldn't find her voice as she was pulled along down the corridors. This castle was so large, she caught glimpses out the windows of the grounds and the forest beyond. This was her first time seeing what she had longed to see since she could remember, and it was little more than half second glances whilst being pulled by the ear.

They came to a stop in front of a gargoyle that must have been guarding the headmaster's office. The nurse said the password and pulled her up the stairs. At this point she had mercifully removed her grip on Ginny's ear to pull her by the upper arm instead. They found themselves standing in an impressive office, waiting.

The nurse didn't so much as look at her while they stood there silently waiting for Dumbledore. He came in after a few minutes. He looked tired.

"Headmaster Dumbledore, I believe this girl was trying to steal some dreamless sleep potion again last night and got herself locked in my office. I will leave her here for you to deal with." The nurse admonished and turned on her heal leaving the office.

The headmaster looked Ginny over. "It would appear that you injured your head last night."

"I did. But sir, I haven't stolen anything."

He held up his hand to stop her. "Miss Weasley, please do not play the innocent act with me. Over these last several months it has become increasingly apparent that you have no respect for authority figures. Your parents are at their wits end with the number of letters that have been sent home about you, and your brothers have all given up."

"But sir."

He raised his hand to stop her again. "I and the other professors have plenty to deal with outside of your antics. I was going to call you in here regardless. This is the last chance that you will be given. If you break any more rules, or disrespect any more teachers. If you get anymore detentions, or so much as wave your wand in the corridors I will have to expel you."

Ginny was in shock. Tom had completely derailed her life.

"Do you understand?"

Ginny nodded. She was numb again. She stood there trying to find a way to tell him what had been going on, but as she clutched to the towel wrapped diary, she couldn't find her voice. She was ever so tired.

The door opened behind her and she felt the persons presence move closer to her.

"Ah, Severus, please escort your student back to her room. She has been given her final chance, and I believe she best take the day to contemplate how she wants to behave for the rest of her educational career."

Ginny looked up at the stern face of Hogwarts most notoriously hated professor. He ignored her gaze and nodded at the Headmaster before swiftly turning around and leading her back down to the dungeons to the Slytherin Common Room.

Ginny gave one last look at the Headmaster and scurried off after Professor Snape. She managed to pay attention to the path he was leading, but remained silent. They stopped at the door to her dorm room.

"I would expect that you will actually take this time to rearrange your attitude. You've made only enemies at this school, and though your marks are exceptional, _you_ have been a nightmare. Get in this room and do not come out until you've decided to change." He opened her door.

She walked through it and was grateful that the other five girls seemed to have scattered. Professor Snape closed the door quickly and loudly. She winced at the noise and took a few wobbly steps forward before she fell to the floor weeping.

She didn't bother to wipe away the tears as they streamed down her face. She didn't bother to try and muffle the sound of her sobs either. It didn't matter that she was outside of the room in her mind she'd been locked in. There was still no one to see her or hear her.

Hours later she had a pain in her stomach. Hunger. She hadn't felt hunger or any other bodily need in months. Lifting herself up from the floor she headed to the bathroom and drank greedily from the tap. That would have to tide her over for now.

Desperate for answers about what Tom had made her do that was so awful she found her bed and opened all of her drawers. There were only clothes. Her trunk she found marked essays and tests that showed grades beyond her capability. Underneath that however, letters.

Reprimands from her professors and hate letters from other students, some of them signed by multiple students all along the lines of how they didn't like her and wanted her to die. There were letters from her parents that, at the earliest, started with asking how she could have wound up in Slytherin, then got progressively worse until it was at the point of them saying she was not the daughter they raised. There were letters from all of her brothers that were basically along the same lines, except the one's from Fred and George that said she would be their new guinea pig.

All that time the Tom had spent wreaking havoc over the school, he also spent severing all past and future relationships she had.

Ginny hung her head in her hands. She thought back to what she had wanted her school life to look like. It was going to be the time of her life. She was going to have fun, get friends, make Harry Potter notice her, all of that. Now, that was all gone.

She sat on the floor leaning back against her bed and looked over at that damned book. It had to be destroyed. There must be some way to destroy it. Surely Dumbledore would know how. But she couldn't face him again. What if she froze up again and couldn't get a word out? What if she accidentally touched it and Tom took over again?

Owl it. There must be a school owl she could use to mail it to him with an explanation. But he wouldn't trust her now, not after threatening to expel her, and her apparent disregard for the rules of society.

Ginny decided not to tell him who it was from. Just it was dangerous, and had belonged to Tom Riddle and to tell him to buy some fucking roosters. She managed to slip the diary onto parchment paper and tie it up. She wrote out her letter, trying to obscure the handwriting as best she could. She tied it onto the package, including the note about the Basilisk from Hermione.

Her first opportunity she would find the owlery and send it to him. And until then she was determined to buck up on her studies and try to catch up on what she'd missed. Her family… well she didn't know what to do about that. They seemed to hate her now, but for what Tom had made her do she couldn't fault them for that.

She would just have to prove herself changed. She would be nice again. She would be Ginny again. They would forgive her in time, surely? Then maybe she could explain properly what happened. Then she can get re-sorted into Gryffindor and all would be right again.

Yes, that is what is going to happen.


	3. Imperio

**Disclaimer- I don't own Harry Potter**

**London- Present day (Meaning 2004)**

Ginny awoke the morning after her formal introduction to the U.K. Auror team in her bed at the flat-share she would be inhabiting for the next two weeks. Brigette, the brunette from the brothel was actually her flat mate. Bridgette had needed the extra cash and the flat was really rather cozy. Plus in a very convenient location.

She'd had so much trepidation about returning to England. She hated it here. Her childhood before Hogwarts had been fantastic, but every minute thereafter had been torture. Her mask had been in place the entire duration of her life in the U.K. ever since she found out Tom had turned her family against her.

She didn't even remember the sorting, or the majority of her first year. Tom was in control of her then.

But as soon as she'd finally gotten rid of him months had gone by that she'd been under his control. The dye was cast and after several failed attempts to try and explain, she felt there was no choice but to accept her fate and train herself in order to protect herself from the other students who were treating her horribly. The number of hours she'd spent in the library were more than she'd spent anywhere else in that castle. It was safest for her. There were no friends and no mentors that could have helped her.

By her sixth year, when the Carrow siblings had taken over the school, she'd just managed to keep the boys from sniffing around her. Then that year happened and the rape threats and offers for 'protection' were at an all time high. She'd spent the whole year sleeping on a transfigured bed in a dis-used supply closet. Food had been scarce, but she'd managed to get some supplies to sustain her thanks to the help of a drunken House Elf. The only classes she'd attended were Charms and Transfiguration. Everything else she'd learned from her textbooks.

Missing so many classes had led to a few detentions, but luckily the worst that had happened were a few Cruciatus curses. Ginny scoffed. When one is grateful for the Cruciatus curse, you know things were bad.

That was the year of the Battle of Hogwarts. That was an event that she'd done her best to suppress over the years. Her role in that was traumatizing enough that she'd basically refused to speak for two months after. Not that she'd talked much to the people she was surrounded by a lot before that happened.

Her seventh year in Slytherin had been quite peaceful. The Slytherin house numbers were greatly diminished and she'd picked up her little business she had been doing since her third year, but had put on pause for her sixth. She didn't make much doing it, but at least she had some money kicking around. Enough to figure out what to do after school.

By her fifth year The Burrow was no longer 'home', no where was. She was perpetually sad with a broken heart and resting bitch face. Ginny was desperate to be happy again.

New Zealand was where she'd decided to start. Beaches, moderate weather and low crime rate. It had been the best decision ever. For the first time in what felt like forever she'd let her guard down. She quickly got a job as a bar back and danced and drank away for two months before being tapped for their DMLE Auror program.

Auror Burke had been astounded that as inebriated as she was, she could take on grown men and still manage to look graceful.

She smiled at the memory of that stupid Aussie frat guy being rude to her friend, and his buddies jumping in after she took him down. She'd cleared out to the beach after that fight. Burke followed her and they pulled their wands on each other. After a brief duel he managed to get her wand and she launched herself at him. He actually laughed after he managed to subdue her. "You've got just the chops I'm looking for. Any interest in being an Auror?"

She'd excelled in Auror training and made major headway on the first mission she was assigned. Jake Burke was her mentor and friend. She'd made a lot of quick friends there. They seemed to take her 'back-off' attitude as a challenge to make her lighten up.

The Chameleon nickname, or call sign, came as joke. It hadn't been because she'd been able to adjust quickly to new situations, or become a whole new personality fitting of the person she'd been Polyjuice'd into. It was because after six weeks of her colleagues half-assed attempts at pranking her she'd began to retaliate with excessive use of her disillusionment charm.

After two years in New Zealand she got transferred to Australia, then to South Africa, then to Canada (where missions were a walk in the park in comparison to what went on in Johannesburg). With every new place she went and every assignment that could have potentially been bunged up she'd picked up new tricks and training. She shared that training with her colleagues and made herself quite well known it seemed.

When Scrimgeour tracked her down and started asking her to work for him she'd been in Puerto Rico. The intel she'd been gathering on her mission there she could tell was about to come to a head, and she was not a fan of that island. She wanted to go back to New Zealand, but the information she'd been gathering was leading her to believe that the UK was becoming ripe for the picking. Auror's were all letting their guard down. Only eight years after the war! It was a big piss off, so she finally agreed.

The muggle brothel she found the first three dunderheads in had kept a record of its visitors on video tape. It being so close to the Leaky Cauldron her first step had been to break in and check these records. Several Auror's had visited it, it turned out. That was where she met Brigette. It was her second day back in the country and after she'd surveyed the area, and tried to figure out how to make the Aurors as embarrassed as possible with themselves she decided she'd visited the brothel first.

Brigette had been easy to chat to while she was waiting for the owner. She mentioned having a spare room and by the next night the Ginny was moved in and they were celebrating by clubbing. Brigette was over the moon about Ginny's ability, and willingness, to make meals. Ginny also had no problem with what Brigette did for a living.

She'd seen Dean Thomas, a good friend of Seamus Finnegan who was an Auror, earlier the day of her undercover operation when she was with Brigette and suggested she go over and re-introduce herself, then Ginny cast a charm on him to make him desire seeing her again. She was pleased it hadn't been all for naught. She'd been about to give up when the three of them stumbled in. The number of men she'd had to prostrate herself in front of had been exceptionally high for that establishment.

The owner was very pleased. She'd promised him, as a 'Professional Fluffer' she could make his business function at twice the speed in one night with her methods for an extra five hundred pounds on top of regular wages. He only had to pay her if it worked. He paid.

She'd had to boil her skin in the shower after.

Brigette was thrilled with the change at the venue. So were all the other girls. The johns were getting off so fast that the girls were making almost double what they were before. It made Ginny laugh. Who would have thought that turning a guy on first would make him hornier?

Ron hadn't come and found her after the meeting yesterday, and she was grateful for that. Sitting beside him as the fake Susan Davis had been uncomfortable enough. He had been nice to her when he didn't know who she was. Then he'd called her a 'selfish evil bitch'.

Seeing the twins yesterday was trying as well. They were happy and successful, with a rotation of girlfriends. She wanted that for them, but… sorting out her feelings about her family was something she avoided. It seemed all of her family had been doing well. All but the twins were married off and having children. Her parents were really doing well now too, especially now that they were financially stable since they didn't have any kids to support.

Even Harry seemed happy in his life now, if still single so far as she could tell. He looked shocked and embarrassed after her reveal yesterday and promptly dragged Ron off after the meeting. He had never been rude to her, or repeated any of the rumors to her knowledge. But her family had adopted him as fast as they'd abandoned her. It had been gut wrenching watching him walk around in a Weasley Christmas jumper growing up when she had been no longer receiving them. It wasn't his fault though. She had heard how awful his Muggle relatives had been to him. She could understand his longing to be a part of the 'loving' and large Weasley family.

She'd always kept track of Harry. She had been drawn to him since the moment she first saw him. After she'd gotten Tom out of her head and come to the realization that he had actually been the young Voldemort, she had felt a link with Harry and it hadn't gone away. She watched him grow up, but had never really talked to him. Seeing him now after all these years she realized she was still drawn to him.

She pushed her reminiscences aside. They weren't why she'd come back. Five more of the Auror's needed visits to St. Mungo's before she'd left the Ministry. These guys were little more than mall cops at this point. Really, a little bulbotuber puss went a long way when they didn't even recognize the smell before they touched it. Granted she'd applied it to the arm rest of random office chairs, but still.

Grinning she got out of the bed and headed to the shower. She planned a visit to the gym at the DMLE for a work-out and sabotage.

It was sad how easy it was to send Dark Wizard Catchers to the hospital.

No one was at the gym when Ginny'd entered. She smirked and waved her wand at the practice dummies, then began running laps around the room. It was only seven in the morning, but she'd expected some Auror's at least to utilize the facilities at this time of day.

All of the other Ministries she'd worked at had a constant flow of Auror's exercising at all hours. Someone was always getting off a trying assignment and having a little trouble sleeping it had seemed. She more than others.

Every time she finished an assignment she'd worked out until the point of collapse, then slept for a day, then celebrated the entire following evening with her colleagues. They say that the Irish can really drink, but they have nothing on the Australians. Ginny grinned at the memories of waking on the morning's after and trying to figure out where she was. Sometimes it was on a partner's bed, sometimes it was on the beach. She may have been in England to preach constant vigilance, but that didn't mean she always practiced it.

She'd finished her laps and moved on to the punching bag by the time someone joined her in the gym. She recognized the Auror, but couldn't bring to mind his name. He was about five years older than her, tan and tall with sandy brown hair. She nodded at him and continued punching and kicking the bag.

"Need a spotter?" He asked as he came over.

"Sure" she shrugged.

He came around and held on to the other side of the bag as she attacked it. "Dustin Hall." He introduced himself.

"Ginny Weasley" She threw another kick.

"I know. Bloody impressive you are. Can make a guy a little nervous." He chuckled. She ignored the comment and continued cycling through her routine. "So" he continued "how does it feel to be back in the home country?"

She stopped her movements and stared at him with unfeeling eyes. "Like I only have to be here for two more weeks, and I'm glad of it."

"Come now, we aren't all that bad." He smiled at her, in what she assumed was to be a charming manner. "The country is at peace now. You should really give it another try. How about I take you out tonight and show you what I mean."

"Not interested." She moved on to the weights. He followed her. She grabbed the seven-pound weights, he the twenty. She rolled her eyes internally at his obvious show of manliness. She started doing lunge curls. He sat on the bench to do arm curls.

"You, urgh, just need to give it, urgh, a chance."

"I have given it a chance, and I have no desire to see more of the magical side of the U.K. than I already have." She found his presence grating. He was really just convincing her to single him out with her next sabotage attempt at sending Auror's to the hospital.

"If this is, urgh, about your family… urgh, I can make sure to take you somewhere, urgh, you wouldn't have to see them." He was breaking a sweat at the strain from lifting two twenty-pound weights. She heard more people coming into the gym and she looked over to see who it was.

Of course, it was Harry and Ron. Why wouldn't it be. They stopped in their tracks when they saw her. She took a deep breath. "Must be a bit awkward for you eh?" Auror Hall said quietly and conspiratorially. "Seeing your brother after all these years. Never been a fan of him."

She looked over at him. "You know what you should really focus on?" She said in a low sultry voice. His eyes sparkled in anticipation. "Not winding up in St. Mungo's, rather than making passes at me because I am not interested." She put her weights back on the stand and headed to the elliptical machines.

Auror Hall looked over to Harry and Ron. They were scowling at him, and he at them. The two started jogging around the track and Hall went over to the practice dummy and shot a hex at it. The hex instantly shot back at him and Hall was incapacitated and groaning on the floor.

Ginny couldn't help but smile and laugh. She guessed she didn't have to single him out after all.

()()()()()()()

Harry was assigned to the second round of training with Ginny, as was Ron. He had kind of been hoping to go with out Ron, but they were partners so he'd assumed it was inevitable.

After the misery they'd both experienced from their enlightenment of Ginny's history they both went out for drinks. Several drinks. Then wound up at Ron and Hermione's home for even more drinks. The truly great thing about Ron being married to Hermione, besides the fact that his best friends were very happy with each other, was that when Ron and he got smashed Hermione force fed them a hang over potion before they passed out.

So, this morning when they woke up at the crack of dawn, they didn't suffer any ill effects from the previous night. Ron couldn't tell Hermione why he was desperate to get drunk, but after six years of them being fully trained Auror's, she knew better than to ask. She just got up before them, put on the kettle and made bacon.

Harry decided in his drunken stupor that if he remembered, and it still felt like a good idea in the morning, then he was going to apologize to Ginny. He certainly hadn't helped her in school, nor had he looked into her disappearance. He was desperate to know if there was more to her story too. And if Malfoy or Zabini had ever done anything to make her life harder, because they were kind of his mate's now, and if they had, then he wanted to make them apologize too.

Seeing her in the gym that morning shouldn't have surprised him as much as it did. Seeing her in her skin-tight exercise clothes shouldn't have excited him as much as it did either. He still wanted her, and he had no right.

Ron and he heard what she'd said to Hall and he dragged Ron to start their jog before Ron could try to go over and make an ass of himself.

In his drunken state last night Ron had slurred something about having never been there for her, and now he was going to change that. Harry was pretty sure that she would neither require his help, nor appreciate it.

When Hall got hit by the rebounded hex, they'd both been a little stunned. Harry looked to Ginny and saw her smile. It was close mouthed, but a smile none the less. He didn't know that he'd ever seen her do that before. It looked good on her, so did the twinkle in her eye, and her brief laugh.

They left Hall on the floor for a bit as they completed their laps, then Harry conceded and removed the hex. Hall glared at them and took off for the showers.

Harry and Ron watched from their desks as the Auror's from the first training session left the room. They were all slightly shaken. The first session ended just after ten in the morning, but the Auror's from that session weren't telling the afternoon team what it was they had to do. Now it was their turn and they looked at each other with trepidation before they entered the room. Initially there was to be twenty Auror's in the class, but now there were only twelve. Eight had gone to St. Mungo's between yesterday and this morning which excluded them from this session. The charm that she had placed on the dummy that morning had wiped out another four people, not including Hall who was fine after the hex was lifted.

The two of them sat down beside one another.

Once everyone was seated Ginny returned to the classroom with a box of Chinese noodles and chopsticks. "Good no one is late. Don't mind me, I'm starving." She pulled a chair to the front of the room and sucked back a mouthful of noodles. "Who can throw off the Imperius Curse?" She looked relaxed, like she may as well have been sitting down on couch about to chit chat with a friend.

Harry raised his hand slightly.

"Seriously? Just Potter?" She looked astounded. "Who has experience casting it?"

"It's illegal!" Ron said loudly.

She rolled her eyes, "So is what the people we're after are doing. Imagine if they cast it on you and you were now under their control." She bit back. "Can anyone cast it?" she repeated.

All of them nodded.

"Good" She said. Ginny pointed at one of them. "You, cast it on Potter and make him do something out of character."

Harry's eyes widened and he looked over at Auror Jones. Jones looked between him and Ginny. "Im-Imperio" Harry felt a dream-like state take over him. 'You want to climb on the table'. Harry looked at the table and stood up. But that seemed like a silly idea. This was not his idea. "NO" he shouted, and threw off the curse.

The Auror's clapped and Harry looked to Ginny rather proudly, he'd thrown it off very quickly. She looked ready to laugh at him, there was an amused twinkle in her eye. "You realized you just shouted 'No' right?"

"Well what would you have him do?" Lupin asked her angrily.

She looked from Auror Lupin to Auror Jones. "Try it on me."

"Imperio" Jones said with as much confidence as he could muster. As though doing so could make it stronger than the curse he'd used on Harry.

They watched as Ginny stood up and lazily walked over to the table Jones was sitting at, he looked very proud of himself as she climbed on top of it and promptly stuck Jones in the throat with her wand. She then looked over at Lupin. "At what point to you think I threw off the curse?"

Lupin didn't respond. Ginny pocketed her wand again and walked back to the front of the room. "If you get put under the curse it can be very fortuitous to make the caster believe that you are still under their control. Especially if they have more back-up than you do." She sat back down and picked up her lunch again. "The rest of your time here today you are going to try to throw off the curse. Pair up and show me what you've got."

No one made to move. She looked up from her lunch after a moment and waved her wand, the tables hovered above their heads and moved to the side of the room stacking themselves. "Get up before I banish your chairs."

They all stood and partnered up.

By the time there was only five minutes left in the hour a few more of them could throw off the curse, but they were vocalizing when they'd done it. It was still an improvement.

Ginny had sat watching, then called for a cease-fire. They all sat back down again. "There was a noticeable improvement. This is something every one of you should be able to do. If another war breaks out there shouldn't be a single Auror out there that can blame their idiotic choices on the Imperious curse." She looked at Harry and Ron briefly. "I want all of you to practice with your partners. Keep in mind that the first request made by the caster is not always something out of character, it could be as simple as making you grab a cup of coffee. Take note of the immediate feeling of lightness you experience when it is set upon you. That should be your indication, not being told to jump on a table."

Auror Jones shifted a bit in his seat. Harry noticed her eyes soften a bit when she took in his discomfort. "That wasn't a jab at your first order." She placated him. "We are not doing the same thing tomorrow. I may come back around and test your ability to throw off the curse again, I may not. I am glad that a few of you were able to throw it off at all since you claimed you couldn't an hour ago. It isn't easy. You're dismissed."

Harry was going to stay behind and talk to her. He was still determined to apologize, but Ron turned to him as everyone stood up. "I'll meet you out there, yeah?" Ron nodded towards Ginny.

Harry felt his nerves ease a bit. Ron needed to talk to her more than he did, and he was slightly relieved that he had to put it off for a while longer.

()()()()()()

Ginny saw Ron turn to Harry and nod in her direction. Everyone else filed out of the room leaving the two of them alone.

"You need something?" She asked. She could tell he'd been ashamed of himself yesterday. She kept reminding herself, that while he had made her life difficult, it was because of something Tom had made her do.

"I… Well, that is…" Ron trailed off. "Back in school." He took a few breaths.

"Yes?" She stretched out the word.

"I shouldn't have made your life harder." He finally got out.

Ginny didn't react. If that was all he had to say, then fine. It wasn't an apology, nor did it excuse him. "What was it you did to make my life harder?" She pried. If he didn't have an answer for that then she wasn't going to entertain this anymore.

Ron looked down at his shoes and a blush came to his face. "I spread rumors, told lies, scowled at you when ever I saw you. I was basically a ponce. Even yesterday I called you a selfish, evil bitch. I took a hard look at everything I did since you started school, and I am ashamed." He rang his fingers together then looked up at her. "Why didn't you yell at me?" He asked.

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Yell at you?"

"Yeah. When we were little you always fought back. But when I started in on you once you were sorted into Slytherin, you never yelled at me. You didn't fight. Not me or the twins! Then you just became this person." He gestured to her. "Well… not this person. You seem less closed off now than you did."

She closed her eyes a moment to steady herself. She wasn't going to tell him about her first few months in Slytherin. She had that story saved for a specific person for the first telling. Instead Ginny walked over to the white board and grabbed a marker.

"You see this marker?" He nodded. "It's blue yeah?"

"Yes…" He trailed of, not knowing where this was going.

She pulled off the cap and drew a line on the board. "What colour is the line Ron?"

"Blue."

She pointed at the line. "That is green." She capped the marker and threw it back down. "I didn't fight, because you didn't see me anymore. You didn't even bother to look. No one did. You would tell a story about me and no one would question it, they just spread it along. Someone would tell _you_ a story about me and you would go ahead and do the same thing. The lies and rumors just got compounded until I was seen as nothing but a **selfish evil bitch**. I was dying in Slytherin, and you weren't helping. You didn't want to help. Instead, you and the twins kept the family turned against me." She kept a steady tone. "It wasn't all you. I know it all started from something I did in my first few months at school."

Ron stared at the line on the board. It was green. The cap on the marker was green too.

"I have to meet with Head Auror Scrimgeour. I'll trust you can see your way out." Ginny turned and walked out of the room and headed for the loo.

She stood in front of the mirror and clutched the sides of the sink. She was shaken. Tremors were running through her arms and legs and she needed to calm herself before going to make her reports on their progress. She hadn't wanted an altercation with Ron, but had known it was inevitable.

Taking a few deep breaths, she steadied her nerves and washed her hands, letting the hot water calm her. She wanted a deep soak, there was only a shower stall at her flat though. Barring that, she wanted to get laid. That would calm her down. Her mind instantly pulled up an image of what Harry would look like on her bed. She'd always maintained a certain level of attraction when it came to him, and seeing him look at her proud of himself for throwing off the curse the first time Auror Jones cast it on him made her remember how easily likable he was.

Ginny splashed her face with the water and dried it off before checking her reflection in the mirror. Her face showed no signs of her nerves. She couldn't wait to get home today and be in her safe space. Choosing to live in Muggle London for the duration of this experience had been an excellent idea.

()()()()()()()

"Judging from the look on your face, that didn't go so well." Harry commented as Ron returned to his desk.

Ron lay his head down on the desk and groaned. "I really am an evil bastard, aren't I?"

"Kind of." He agreed.

Ron looked up at him perplexed.

Harry met his eye dead on. "It's not like I stopped you at all, so I'm no better."

"Oh, you had other things on your mind than stopping me putting my foot in it." Ron's eyes turned worried. "I really destroyed her life, didn't I?"

"Well, you and the twins." Harry shrugged.

Ron scoffed. "Yeah, and it isn't like I can talk to them and tell them how they helped pile it on, can I? Compulsion Charm and all." He pondered a moment. "Think I should invite her for dinner? Try to clear the air more?"

"You mean try to convince her that you are still her family?" Harry asked. It seemed a bit late for that.

Ron bit the skin around his thumb while he thought it over. The habit disgusted Harry, but all attempts to stop him doing it had been fruitless. "Mione had been bugging me to track her down. Maybe I can convince her to act like I had, and then Mione could help win her over?" Ron suggested.

Harry thought that over. Hermione was good with people, she'd even won favor with Malfoy and Zabini at staff functions and gala's that they had to attend over the years. With out her Harry probably wouldn't have become friends with the two of them.

"Sure, Hermione would be a huge help, however how are you going to convince Ginny to go to dinner with the two of you?"

"Three, you've got to come too."

"What?! Why?"

"You're family too! You should be there." He argued.

Harry cringed slightly. Yes, he was seen as family to the Weasley's, but Ginny wasn't any longer. "Maybe don't mention that bit when you ask her." He pointed out. Ron cringed too at that, but nodded. "And it should probably be at your place, less witnesses."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll ask her round my place. Who knows, maybe by the time her two weeks is up we will be on good terms!" he said brightly.

Harry seriously doubted that, but didn't say anything. He just gave Ron a tight, forced smile and went back to filling out his paperwork.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Ginny walking down the row of desks towards the Head Auror's office. If Ron could talk to her and try to make up for all his wrong doings in the past, then so could Harry.

It was only just after two at that point, surely he could manage to talk to her before they all cleared out at five.

()()()

Harry hadn't been able to talk to her. He had heard Scrimgeour yelling at her though. The door had been shut, but the blinds had not been drawn. Everyone could see her sitting in the chair across the desk from the Head Auror calmly replying to the man. She didn't seem perturbed in the least. Harry had gathered she hadn't had clearance to use the Unforgivable Curse.

Around four Ron and Harry had finished their paperwork and went to the empty conference room to try out the Imperious Curse on each other to improve.

Harry had actually managed to throw it off with out any outward signs, Ron had done the chicken dance. It was taking him longer to submit to Harry's requests to make a fool of himself however, and that was progress.

Ron had bid him good day as soon as the clock struck five, and no more Auror's had wound up at St. Mungo's since that morning. Harry waited back to watch for Ginny. He looked over into the Head Auror's office to see if she was about ready to leave, but she wasn't there.

He quickly scanned around the room, she wasn't anywhere.

He grabbed his jacket quickly and set a quick pace for the exit. She could have Floo'ed or Apparated anywhere. He hoped it was Floo, and he hoped he could still catch her in the Atrium.

He still didn't see her in the Atrium, and sighed. He turned at the Apparation point and found himself in Diagon Alley. He had a flat in Muggle London that was a few kilometers from the Leaky Cauldron. It was on the Muggle side of the Leaky Cauldron that he caught a glimpse of Weasley hair. It was Ginny.

His nerves crept up on him again. He went over his options. Stop her on the street or just try to talk to her again tomorrow?

Neither of those ideas won him over, so why he decided to disillusion himself and follow her he had no idea. The Chameleon was one of the best trained Auror's in the world, surely she would be able to tell if she was being followed.

That chance that he was willing to take.

**AN- I know that UK Auror training was supposed to be three years long, so Ron and Harry should have only been fully trained Auror's for five years, but given their roll in the war I marked them down as 'fast tracked'.**

**Trying to keep the story as close to the canon as possible with my change to Ginny's life.**


	4. Second Year

**Second Year of Hogwarts- 1993-1994**

_Dear Mum and Dad,_

_I'm sorry about yesterday and what happened in the orchard. I didn't mean to almost burn it down. I know I was mad when I left the house, but I swear it was accidental magic. And the reason I am still doing accidental magic is because.._

He'd been gone for months now, but his mark on her had not left. Not in her dorm, not with the rest of the student body, not with her professors, and not with her family. The summer had been terrible. After a year at Hogwarts students were supposed to have a greater control of their magic.

She didn't.

That was because she hadn't had control of herself for so many months. Rudimentary spells still had not been mastered, she couldn't levitate anything, couldn't transfigure anything, and only potions and herbology were straight forward to her. Follow the recipe, transplant the greenery.

She'd helped in the kitchen and the garden with her mother as far back as she could remember, so those at least were easy.

But her accidental magic that kept happening at random around the Burrow was seen as hostility. And truthfully, she was hostile, and upset. But she would not cry. Any opportunity to tell her family what happened resulted in her standing in front of one of them with a frog in her throat.

Her brothers sneered at her and avoided her. Her parents did their best to not even look at her. It was rather amazing how she got used to it. Her anger at the situation resulted in her nearly burning down half of the orchard, so she resigned herself to her room most of the time. Hiding and studying.

She had to get her magic under control. Perhaps if she played quiet and meek they'd come around to try and include her more. But then, she'd focus too hard on her spell and an Owl from the Ministry would arrive and she'd be in trouble for using underage magic.

There was no point arguing. The worst part was that her parent's didn't even raise their voice, they didn't even tell her they were disappointed in her.

She was relieved to be going back to school.

She may not be liked there either, but she'd rather deal with the disdain from strangers than her family. It didn't take long for the Slytherin's to see her new quietness to be seen as weakness and make her a target. In turn it didn't take her long to learn to stay out of the Slytherin Common Room and her dorm room as much as possible.

Her routine stayed the same. Wake up at dawn, shower and dress quickly, head to an abandoned part of the castle to practice her spells and try to catch up. Go to breakfast, go to the library to study. Go to class. Lunch. Class. Dinner. Then find another abandoned part of the castle to complete assignments and practice spells. Get back to her dorm room before curfew.

Sometimes she would lay in bed thinking about the person she was before that Diary ruined her life, but it was too painful.

The weekends were a nightmare for her, and she was so lonely.

She didn't go to the Quidditch games, and tried to get to meals as everyone else was leaving, or snatch food and leave quickly to eat elsewhere. She would have loved to just sit down next to someone and tried to start up a casual conversation about anything. Everyone else was doing it. But people had shifted away from her whenever she joined the table.

She was being bullied at every turn as well. Stinging hexes hit her all the time. There was nothing she could do to retaliate. She could not risk expulsion. She was reduced to becoming a target. They now knew that there was nothing she could do about it. If she so much as flipped them off she could kiss her education good bye.

She'd been sticking close inside the castle walls looking out with longing. The Dementors were out there. The one's that made her retreat to the room inside the back of her mind.

She had been hanging out in the hall on the Hogwarts Express, right close to the back of the train when they boarded. She'd curled up into a ball on the floor when they got close. The chill had set into her bones and she'd felt exactly as she had when she'd first taken ownership back of her body. Numb and horrified.

After the first Quidditch game they were pushed out past the perimeter of the forest though, and Ginny weighed her pro's and con's before she took the opportunity to go for a walk. It was the last Saturday in October, and the grass crunched under her feet. The sunshine was still nice on her face, though not warming.

She packed her bag full of muffins at breakfast and made her escape. With the Dementor's still being out there, none of the other students were venturing very far past the walls of the castle. Ginny went as far out as she thought was safe and found a nice secluded space to sit back against a tree and read her library book on shield charms and other defenses. Thankfully she'd mastered the warming charm.

_Dear Mum,_

_I can't tell you how sorry I am for what I put you through last year. I didn't mean any of it, whatever it was. You see, I was not in control of my body. I was possessed by a seventeen year old boy._

She crumpled up the parchment. Who would believe that? It read like she was trying to make up the most far fetched story on purpose just to taunt them. There was no way she could send out a letter like that and expect it to be taken seriously. The first letter she'd tried writing, during the summer, had wound up in the fireplace. She couldn't get it out verbally or on parchment.

She sighed and nestled her back against the tree a little more. Her little haven was quite comfortable, so comfortable that she fell asleep. The sun on her face had felt so wonderful, it reminded her of laying on her back in the orchard at home. Back when she was ten and didn't have a care in the world.

Ginny woke to a rustling sound. It was close to her. She opened her eyes and saw a mangy dog was digging into her bag. "Hey!" She called at it. It looked up at her a little startled, but it didn't growl. It just looked a little sheepish.

She furrowed her brow at it. She'd come across many a stray dog wandering out to the Burrow from Ottery a few times, so she was familiar with the animals, and the general behavior. A stray dog would at least snarl, as would a hungry dog, which this so clearly was. She took in the diminished look of the animal, its ribs were sticking out, its coat was entirely lack luster. She felt a stab of pity for it and grabbed her bag taking out a muffin and placing it in front of the dog.

It didn't immediately inhale the muffin. It eyed her curiously, as though the kind gesture was actually a malicious act that the dog expected to uncover the true meaning of the offering. Hunger won out and the dog gobbled the muffin up quickly. She gave it two more.

"That's all you're getting." She told it. "You'll be in pain later if you eat any more." She closed up her bag and opened her book again, recasting the warming charm that had been wearing off. She took more pity on the dog and cast one on him as well.

The dog shivered slightly at the new sensation and settled down close to her. Too close.

She made a face at the scent emanating off of the animal. "You stink. Move a little further away." The dog did so with out looking over to her. She didn't have to push it to make it understand, it just did.

She stared at it. This was not typical dog behavior. She thought of how Professor McGonagall could turn into a cat, and so after observing it for a few moments she had to wonder, out loud. "You aren't a dog, are you." The dog immediately turned its attention from the school, to her. The dog stared her down, as if waiting for her to attack or something. She matched him calculated stare for calculated stare.

"I wouldn't be capable of changing you back into a person, and I've no interest in creating trouble today. It isn't like anyone would believe me if I told them I met a stray Animagus and had a nice sit down over some muffins. Either way, I'm enjoying this secluded spot, so I'm not leaving." The dog did nothing but stare at her.

She dropped her eyes back to her book.

Sure, she realized she may just have been imagining things, making up fantasies. But she was a witch, and she knew what an Animagus was. She also knew that there was a particular someone that was currently on the run, and supposedly trying to get into the castle right then. If Sirius Black was an Animagus, that would explain a lot. She turned her page, the dog kept looking at her. She looked up again and she swore it was taking in the Slytherin badge on her cloak.

"I know what my cloak says." She said bristling. The dog's eyes went to hers again. Ginny checked herself and bit her lip before asking a favor of him, just in case. "But please don't hurt Harry Potter. He's been through enough already."

The dog stood up suddenly, she tried to control herself enough to not raise her eyebrows in surprise, but then the dog merely circled twice before laying down again. She shook her head. She was probably just being crazy.

The day wore on and she made a good dent in her studies. Her companion stayed where he was, and she stayed in her spot against the tree. The light was soon going to be fading away, so she packed up her books. She gave the dog one more muffin before she returned to the castle.

The next night, on Halloween, Sirius Black broke into the castle.

As Ginny lay wrapped in a sleeping bag on the floor of the Great Hall she wondered if she should tell anyone. She had no proof, only her word. Her word would probably have placed her in trouble. So, she kept her mouth shut.

She had plenty of practice with that.

_Dear Dad,_

_Have you ever heard of someone named Tom Riddle? Because last year I received his old Diary. I thought that either you or mum had given it to me. Nothing was written in the pages, so I started to use it. And then he started writing back. Just before I got to Hogwarts, on the train, he asked if I wanted to play a prank on my brothers. The prank was actually on me. He managed to take over my body and did all manner of things to cause this rift between me and everyone else._

_For whatever he did while he was in control of my body, I'm sorry. It wasn't me, I swear. I-_

The second time Sirius Black broke into Hogwarts he nearly killed her brother Ron by accident, or so the story goes. Ginny had to wonder though, if he had really been looking to harm Harry Potter, how could he possibly have chosen the wrong bed? And what would have stopped him from just offing Ron before he ran out of Gryffindor Tower? She was called to the Headmasters office with the rest of her family because of it.

Unfortunately, her disbelief of the story, and inner dialogue of questions displayed fully on her face when she was told the story. Her parents had been visibly concerned about Ron, but kept one eye on her reaction of it. It did not help with her family's opinion of her. Her uncontrolled eye roll and scoff at their accusation of her not caring didn't help any either.

By the end of the year she'd managed to get her grades to a respectable level, she was neither a concern, nor was she praise worthy, and she'd been able to do a proper shield charm.

All of her spare time should have been dedicated to her studies, strictly learning what the Professors were trying to teach her, but instead she'd been creating a map of the castle. She'd known that the twins had a map of the castle that told them passwords and secret passageways and where people were in the castle at any given moment.

Having a map like that would be amazing. She would know where her aggressors were at any given moment. But there was no way she could steal that from the twins. They would just get it back from her over the summer anyway, then they'd hex her right off the family tree. So, she'd been spending a lot of time trying to recreate a basic one herself.

The magic was quite advanced, and draining. She fell into her bed completely exhausted most nights. But she managed to recreate a very rudimentary map. The passwords and hidden rooms would have been the hardest part to find out, so she didn't even bother with that bit. If she could figure that out later, then she'd add it. Adding the trace on the people in the castle was not that hard, she didn't need everyone, just the ones that she needed to keep an eye out for.

The map would hopefully keep her out of quite a few precarious situations. But only if it was properly utilized

_Dear Bill,_

_I know you've heard all kinds of stories about what I did that was so horrible last year. And I know that my behavior this past summer didn't help. I swear to you it was all accidental magic! It sounds crazy, I am aware of that, but it was because I was not in charge of my body for most of my first year._

_You have a lot of experience with curses and cursed objects, please, please, you must believe me. I had one! It possessed me. I spent most of last year living in a room in my mind while a boy that used to go to Hogwarts ages ago-_

Ginny wasn't running. Speed walking was not running. And she was not crying. Her eyes were stinging, but there were no tears escaping down her face. Slytherin's were not allowed to show normal emotions, and if she was caught scared, or there was any evidence of crying, then things could get so much worse for her.

She'd been stupid to not check the map at regular intervals. That was how they managed to sneak up on her. She'd only caught them on the map just in time to pack up her books and stand up. They still managed to torture her a bit.

If only it had just been spell they'd tortured her with, but the words were just as bad. Her shielding spells couldn't muffle the things they called her, the taunts that followed her everywhere. They weren't terribly creative. It was always just repeats of what she said to herself in her head all the time anyways. She was a loser with no friends, and a family that didn't even send her Christmas presents any more.

She had spent the entirety of Christmas day in bed crying. There had been no jumper from her mum and dad, and nothing from the rest of her brothers. No one else would have sent her anything either, because she didn't have any friends.

As she was speed walking away from her bullies she bumped into Hermione Granger. How did she just suddenly appear there? She wasn't there a second ago. They both fell down with un-lady like grunts.

"Sorry!" Hermione helped her grab her books that spilled out of her bag. Ginny did her best not to look at her brother's friend. She didn't need her noticing how Ginny's face was undoubtedly splotchy. "The Count of Monte Cristo?"

'Shit' Ginny thought and snatched the book out of her hands and shoved it in her bag. She didn't say anything as she grabbed the rest of her things and sent a quick look the way she came to see if she'd been followed, then ignored that the older girl was there all together, and kept on her way to the next hiding spot.

She was headed for the library, the table right in front of Madame Pince was where she was most left alone.

"Ginny?" Hermione's concerned voice called after her. Ginny ignored it. She couldn't let her see her face properly. It was Ginny's fault Hermione had been petrified last year, she didn't need her concerning herself with her problems. They might get back to Ron, then he'd have more ammunition against her.

The sound of running had her wincing as Hermione caught up. "Ginny." The girls hand came down on her shoulder. "Would you stop?" She said loudly as Ginny shrugged her hand off.

"What?" She hissed, rounding on the girl and startling the other girl.

Hermione's eyes went wide at the abruptness, then she lowered her gaze and her volume."I just want to know if you're okay."

Ginny made a quick observation of the girl. She looked stressed, and tired, and most importantly, she'd forgotten to stash her necklace.

"How about you ignore that you saw me, and what you saw me _with_, and I'll do the same." She indicated to Hermione's time turner.

Hermione's eyes went wide as she followed Ginny's eye line and she hastily tucked it away under her vest. "I just wanted to know if you needed some help." She mumbled.

"Well you can't help me, so you go your way, I'll go mine." Ginny turned and left her there.

She'd been about to say something more, but Ginny didn't want to hear it. It hurt to have so many people hate her, but people being nice to her, like Hermione was about to be, made her hurt even more. Best to just ignore it.

She got to the library and pulled out her Muggle book. Edmond Dantes was trapped in prison for reasons unknown to him, like she had been, but at least he had Abbe Faria to teach him and help him understand. She envied him that.

She sat at her table and sagged into her seat. She'd been too snippy with Hermione. Someone finally asks if she needs help, and what's wrong, and she told her to go away. Was that who she was now? Just an angry loner who wouldn't accept help from anyone?

_Dear Hermione,_

_I am sorry for how I snapped at you in the hall yesterday. I know you were just trying to be helpful, and I do actually appreciate that. I just find it hard to be around you because of what happened to you last year. And my role in it._

_I've tried to get the words out, explain what happened to me, but every time I do it just comes out so crazy. See, I was possessed last year. I was locked away in a room in my mind from September 1st until the middle of May. Every terrible thing that I did was actually a boy named Tom Riddle that went to Hogwarts decades ago. He was the reason you were petrified. And if it weren't for you, then there might have been even more students that would meet the same fate._

_I found your note that was clutched in your hand after I regained control of myself-_

At the end of the year Sirius Black was captured and escaped again, on a Hippogriff apparently. She just knew that the Golden Trio had something to do with it.

And her Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher had been a werewolf.

Why that meant he had to be sacked she didn't understand. He'd been a patient and thorough teacher. From the limited exposure she'd had with the previous years DADA professor, she knew the werewolf had been a dramatic improvement. The previous one was supposed to have been incredibly experienced in the Dark Arts, at least that was what his books led people to believe. She remembered seeing his fan's adoring him at the book shop on Diagon Alley, but if she was able to pass his exam being as ill prepared as she was, then it was pretty obvious that he'd been a fraud. Apparently he'd resigned after all of the terrible things that had gone on around the castle last year. He'd been scared.

Her elective choices were upon her and she chose Ancient Runes and Arithmancy. Care of Magical Creatures she would rather self learn then have to face Hagrid. She was still not sure if it had been because of something she'd said to him while Tom was in control, but he'd given her this look she couldn't define a few times, and she didn't want to deal with that.

There was also the fact that his classes had turned out to be utter shite as she'd heard.

Divination held no interest for her, as far as she saw it, once a prophesy was heard, who's to stop you from changing it? And Muggle Studies was not something she held an interest in. She could go into Ottery St. Catchpole anytime and learn more about Muggles that way rather than three hours of study a week.

Nine classes was enough with her extracurriculars.

**AN- Sorry it's a short one.**


	5. A study in Muggles

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

**Caution- Smut ahead. Also, in this AU not everyone knows the name on Voldemort's birth certificate.**

**London- 2004**

"I can feel your eyes on me and tell I've been followed home, you may as well show yourself" Ginny said as she pulled out her keys to let herself into the flat.

"Sorry." Harry he said as he removed his Disillusionment charm after checking he wouldn't be noticed. He hadn't been making noise, but intuition had told him when he'd been followed a time or two also. He shouldn't have been surprised. He'd also let himself get pretty close to her. Any Auror worth their salt would have felt something was off.

"Why did you follow me?" She turned to him. "Were you trying to get the drop on me, or did you want something?" She could tell he wanted something. From the once over he was giveher she could tell what he _truly_ wanted, but knew there was no way he had the inclination to act on those desires. It did please her though.

"Wanted something. To talk to you." He looked from her up to the building. It was a plain while complex on a row of other plain white complexes not more than two kilometers from Diagon Alley. Opposite way from his own home.

She looked him over carefully. She'd noticed it at the gym, and she noticed it now. He had gotten quite fit over the years. His tousled hair and bright green eyes made him very attractive with his hard jaw line and nicely shaped lips. They looked soft.

"Come on in then." She held the door open. He walked through and she indicated for him to go up the stairs. She was on the fourth floor.

The door to her flat led immediately to small passageway with two-bedroom doors then the passage turned, went past the lavatory, and led to an open living room with a small kitchenette.

"Temporary flat rental?" He didn't see how it could be. It was well lived in.

"Renting a room. Just for the month." She took off her jacket and placed it on the chair at the small eating table. "Make yourself comfortable. I'll be right back."

She went back down the hall and he heard a door open and close. The living area had a convertible bed, a television, plants, art on the walls of generic things, and the table with four chairs. The kitchen had a microwave, fridge, small oven and stove and a washing machine. This was a Muggle flat. 'Why would Ginny be living in a Muggle flat?' He wondered. 'Unless she was trying to stay out of the magical world she was raised in as much as possible.' He realized.

He heard a door open again, and then another one open and close, then water running. She was in the loo. He looked out the window. There wasn't much of a view, just the street and other flats across the way. The door opened again and he turned around. His mouth went dry.

She had certainly made herself comfortable. Her hair was pulled up in a knot on top of her head, she was wearing a large jumper that was obviously designed with someone with her frame in mind as it hung off one of her shoulders but still hugged her hips, he could see a black bra strap. But her legs. He could see almost all of her legs in the short form fitting pajama shorts she had on.

"What did you want to talk about?" She asked as she made her way to the kitchen.

It took him a second to figure out was she was meant. His eyes were on her bum, and his brain was showing him what it would feel like to run his hand up her leg from the ankle to that bum.

"Apologies." He said finally. She turned her torso and head to look at him with a raised eyebrow. "Several years too late."

"Try being specific. I don't recall you doing anything to apologize for. With the exception of staring at me from behind a tree while I was swimming in the pond."

"You saw me?!" He started.

She poured a glass of milk and handed it to him. "Yes."

He sat at the table and stared down into the glass. "Then, yeah. Let's start there." Then he looked from the glass, to her, then back to the glass again.

"I didn't do anything to it." She smiled teasingly, and she returned to the kitchen, pulling out a frying pan.

"Constant Vigilance is telling me not to trust you right now." He cracked back at her and pulled out his wand to check for any poisons. It was clear.

"Good job Harry. Maybe you will be one of the lucky ones that won't wind up in the hospital this week." She was pulling ingredients out and a mixing bowl. She put bacon on the frying pan and started stirring things together in the bowl.

"I am sorry for staring at you at the pond. I was young and fascinated." He took a sip of the milk. "I shouldn't have done it. I blame it on my teenage hormones and my obvious inability to talk to you."

She continued stirring and leaned back against the counter to observe him a moment. "Thank you for saying that. Now, what was it you originally came to apologize about?"

"Everything." He replied evenly. "For all the times I never second guessed the rumors, and even more so for the times I did second guess them, but didn't do anything about them."

She turned back around and poured the substance from the mixing bowl into the frying pan carefully. It smelled like breakfast. Then she put the coffee machine on. He was confused at why she would be making breakfast at nearly six o'clock in the evening, but he carried on.

"Look, I was abused as a child with those Muggle relatives I had to live with, and when I came to Hogwarts it was a life saver. It wasn't until yesterday that I realized that your life had gone the opposite way. I started out my life getting blamed for everything, unloved, and called names. Then I met your brother and the rest of your family and I finally felt like I belonged. I'm devastated with myself for not realizing that you had been victimized all through school for things that were beyond your control. Lies spread about you, and just treated horribly." He clutched the glass in his hand hard. "So, I hope you will believe me when I say that I am so, so very sorry."

Ginny has been reaching out for the spatula and was frozen while he had been apologizing. It had been a long time since she'd been the victim. And being back and seeing these people that had tortured her for so long had been immensely difficult. Hearing an apology from Harry Potter was not something she had tried to mentally prepare herself for. It was bringing up emotions that she had long suppressed. Especially with having already had an interaction with Ron only a few hours earlier.

They both heard another door open. "Ginny, do I smell bacon?"

Ginny turned to look at Harry and mouthed 'Muggle'. He put his wand away.

Brigette came in the room in her oversized sleep t-shirt and baggy track pants. "Oh! Hello." She waved politely at Harry. "Sorry I look a fright!" She smiled and turned to Ginny. "What did I ever do with-out you love?"

"Made you some coffee too."

"Ugh, that's it. Move in permanently and be my lover. I can kick Chantelle to the curb. She never makes me breakfast." Brigette wrapped her arms around Ginny's shoulders and kissed her on the cheek.

"I promise if I ever go that way, I will be on you lickedie split." She winked at her and smiled. "See what I did there?"

Brigette laughed loudly and grabbed a coffee cup. "Trust me darling, you turn to my side and you'd have a lot of my friends lining up to 'Lickedie your split'. Or is that what this dashing man is doing here?" She nodded toward Harry.

Harry was sitting there, mouth agape, trying to figure out if his ears had been deceiving him. Ginny was completely relaxed and joking about going down on this woman. This woman that she lived with. This woman Ginny lived with wanted to go down on Ginny. As if seeing Ginny's legs hadn't already sent blood flowing to his dick. He so badly wanted to palm himself right then. Harry felt himself blush slightly. He coughed a bit. "I'm just here for… We were just…"

Ginny actually grinned at his discomfort. He knew he was all flushed and flustered. Brigette and her had that effect on the male population it seemed. "Brigette, this is Harry. I've known him for over a decade. Harry, this is Brigette. She works nights, which is why I am making her breakfast right now."

"Yes, and it smells delicious." She took the plate that Ginny handed her and went to sit at the table with Harry. "So, you two go way back?"

"Uh, yeah. I'm good friends with her brothers." Harry said, managing to sound as unaffected by what had just happened as possible.

"Ginny! You have brothers? Any of them live around here?" Bridgette turned around in her chair to look at her.

Harry looked from Brigette to Ginny. He felt an 'oh shit' moment coming on. Obviously, she hadn't mentioned her family to her flat mate. Why would she have.

"I have six brothers. I'm estranged from all of them." Ginny deadpanned as she pulled more items out of the fridge.

Brigette nodded and made the gesture of touching her nose in understanding. Harry was not clear on what that gesture was supposed to imply. There was no way that she'd known that Ginny was a witch was there? "And so, Harry. What brings you here today? Did you two just run into each other and want to catch up on old times?" She asked him nicely while she dug into her meal.

"Something like that." He smiled and finished off his milk.

"Harry here was just apologizing for not realizing he was being an ass while we were in school together." Ginny smirked at him before returning to slicing something up.

Brigette gave him the once over again and sipped her coffee cup. "Well then. I'll just step right in and give him a talking to right now." She narrowed her eyes at Harry. She actually looked quite intimidating. "I've only known our girl here for a few weeks, but she's one of the best and most wonderful people I've ever had the pleasure of knowing. If you are going to apologize to her for something, you'd better mean it, and not just be trying to get in her knickers. Because if I come to find that you've hurt her, I'll hunt you down and end you." She picked up her fork and made a threatening gesture with it.

Harry held up his hands. "I swear to you I am truly sorry for all of my past actions and it is not a ploy to get her into bed."

Brigette turned to look at Ginny. "Do you even like it in a bed? It is so old fashioned."

Ginny chuckled at her. "You can't discount comfort of the ability to sleep immediately after a good screaming 'O'."

Brigette grinned at her, then it dropped to a simple smile for Harry before clearing her dishes to the sink. "I'm going to grab a shower and get ready."

Ginny nodded and continued making her food. When Brigette was in the loo and they heard the shower running she turned to him with two plates in hand. "She's probably still listening at the door."

"She seems nice." He said uncertainly.

"She is. I found her a that brothel your two idiots visited. She was the brunette they talked about." She replied and watched his reaction.

Harry shifted uncomfortably at the memory of what Andrews had said about having the two of them alone together. "Ahem, so. Erm. You've been here for a few weeks then?"

"Of course. I had to gather all my intel first and set up that sting with the owner of the brothel. He's very happy with the changes I implemented there. The way they were doing things before was so clinical." She shook her head.

Harry couldn't believe she could talk about such things with so much ease. He looked down at the plate she'd placed in front of him. A simple chicken salad with a delicious smelling dressing. "You didn't have to feed me."

"You were here, I was hungry. It is rude to invite someone into your home and then eat in front of that someone and not at least offer." She stared at him and smiled a little. Almost daring him to check the meal for anything harmful to his health. She would never do that to someone she'd invited into her home. But he didn't know that.

Harry glanced over at the bathroom door and quickly cast the spell. Then he picked up his fork and took a bite. "You should really learn to do that silently." She pointed out.

"You can do non-verbal magic?" Harry shook his head and held up a hand. "Never mind. Stupid question. Of course you can." She let out a single laugh and started digging in to her dinner. The two of them sat there in companionable silence until their plates were clean. He leaned back in his chair and observed her. "Thank you. The last time I had someone make dinner for two I was in a tent on a hunt for Horcruxes." He had said it in an effort to lighten the mood slightly, but he saw her jaw clench a bit. "What is it?"

She stared at him a moment then collected their plates and put them in the sink. "Do you know the last time I saw you was right before you killed the final piece of Tom?" She leaned back against the kitchen counter again.

"Tom?" Harry asked slowly. It wasn't common knowledge that Voldemort's real name was Tom Riddle. Ginny had never been included in the Order of the Phoenix, and even Draco Malfoy hadn't known until Harry told him two years ago.

"Tom Marvolo Riddle." She said just as slowly.

He sucked in a breath. "How did you learn his real name?" He asked carefully.

"How did you find out about the Horcruxes?" She countered. She kept her tone and volume even. If she was going to finally tell someone what happened to her when she was eleven, she'd long since come to the conclusion that it should be Harry.

He had never done anything out and out to offend her, bully her, or otherwise. Sure, he never jumped to her defense, but neither had anyone else. He'd also had a Horcrux make a home inside him, if anyone would have believed her, or understood, it would be him. Her family probably wouldn't even listen, and she had failed at every attempt to tell them.

Harry was observing her carefully, trying to make up his mind about whether she should know the truth. "Dumbledore discovered it. He'd found the first one, a diary, and that led him to find all memories he could from people who'd had interactions with Tom Riddle to try and track down the others."

"And how exactly did he find the diary?"

"It was left to him with a note."

"And who do you think may have sent it?"

Harry stared at her lost in thought. He didn't know. He wasn't sure Dumbledore even knew. The Locket had been found because one of the Death Eaters had found it and tried to destroy it. They had all assumed that the same had happened with the diary.

"Do you know who left it to him? Was it someone in Slytherin when you were there?"

"It was." She answered simply. "Tell me Harry. You had that Horcrux in you for seventeen years. Once you got rid of it, did you feel different?"

He blinked at her. They heard the shower shut off and Ginny gestured for him to follow her. She led him into the first bedroom. It was just large enough for a double bed and a small dresser. She climbed onto the bed and patted the spot beside her.

He closed the door. "The questions you are asking are very personal, you realize." He said as he stood in front of her.

"How badly do you want to know what I know?" She asked. She couldn't help but enjoy the sight of him standing in her room alone with her. He looked so good, and it had been so long since she'd been alone with a man this intimately.

He did want answers, and she looked enticing sitting there, inviting him onto her _bed_. So, he kicked off his shoes and sat beside her. He settled in and they were leaning on each other slightly. She smelled good he noticed. They heard Brigette turn on the blow dryer in the bathroom. It was loud, but muffled enough that they wouldn't need to raise their voices.

"My entire childhood my Uncle Vernon had called me a freak, belittled me, and told me I was good for nothing. Until the Horcrux was gone from my head it was like my uncle had been sitting there at the back of my mind all the time. Then he was gone." He'd been looking down at his hands. Then he checked to see her reaction. It was like her beautiful brown eyes were boring into his soul. He instantly fought the urge to lean over and kiss her.

"Did he ever take you over? Possess your body?"

He furrowed his brow. "Only one time, at the Ministry of Magic in my fifth year. But that wasn't the Horcrux, it was the actual Voldemort that did that."

"You were lucky." She sounded slightly defeated.

He looked at her astounded. "Lucky? I had a piece of him inside me for seventeen years! I had to fight him almost every year while I was at school. You call that lucky?" He was angry. Yes, she had been through some rough times, but she had no right. He made to move off the bed and she stopped him.

Ginny stopped him by straddling him and pushing his shoulders back against the wall. "You are lucky that the piece of him never took over your body. Controlled your actions. Made your decisions for you. Sorted you into the wrong house. I understand that you lost your parents in the process of that Horcruxes creation, but I lost mine too, but they are still alive and can't bear to look at me anymore. At least you know that your parents loved you right up until the end. I lost everything because of that fucking diary, so don't you dare get offended."

Harry was stunned. Her confession was astounding, and straddling him had effectively removed any thoughts he had had about leaving. "That was why you were sorted into Slytherin? You were possessed by Him?" he whispered.

She swallowed hard and nodded. "It took me months to throw him off. When I finally did, I left that Diary to Dumbledore to find a way to destroy it. I tried to tell people, but I was young and I couldn't form the words. The damage had already been done with people's perceptions of me. Dealing with the hatred of me everyone was showing, I wasn't the happy girl I had been anymore. No one wanted me. Not even my parents. To this day I don't know what happened those first few months."

Nothing that she had said had been in anyway good or life affirming. But discovering that there was this innate link between the two of them had his adrenaline going, and this primal need built up. She had bared herself to him and his body was responding. She was straddling him for Merlin's sakes! He didn't care if she was going to kick his ass and send him to St. Mungo's for it, or if she killed him. He had to kiss her.

He snapped his head forward meet her lips, cupping the back of her head at the same time. She didn't fight him, she responded. Her lips moved in tandem with his and she pressed her body closer to his. She rocked her hips against him and he let out a guttural groan.

Her hand snaked into his hair as she pressed his head closer to her. He rolled her so she was laying on the bed with him on top of her and ran his hand under her sweater, up to her breast. She arched up and pulled her sweater off.

Harry didn't have time to marvel at her form, he knew she looked phenomenal, he needed to taste her. He licked and kissed down her neck to the valley between her breasts. She tugged at his shirt to get it off over his head. Then she undid the clasp on her bra.

Frantically he pushed the bra up and attacked her nipples. She wrapped her legs around him in response and scratched his back as her head rolled back at the sensations. Harry let his hands wander down to her bottoms and slipped them off with out asking if he could. He couldn't stop himself.

She didn't need him to slow down at all. She wanted him too. In a second, she'd banished his trousers and boxers and pulled him to her. Their lips found each other again and he dove into her with out hesitation. They both moaned loudly as he filled her.

His brain was already hazy, the adrenaline had made him delirious with want. He thrust into her and buried his head in her neck. She was gripping his hips, showing him the pace she wanted. Meeting him half way and moaning every time he was fully sheathed inside her. He drove into her with a blind, mad passion and she was responding with as much vigor as he was giving out.

Her hands went up to the wall behind her to push back against each thrust as hard as he was giving it to her.

"Fuck you feel good" He said with-out realizing. Her scent, her sounds, her touch, her fucking wet tight pussy. He was already so close to cumming.

"I'm close, not yet." She moaned. He growled and tried desperately to hold back.

It felt amazing to her. It had been so long, and she wanted him. His feral, desperate approach to their coupling was doing it for her. And he was very well equipped. She could feel herself reaching that precipice. Her walls were closing in around him. She was so close. So close. He kept pumping into her balls deep. She bit her lip as her orgasm built higher and higher until if finally crashed around her and she arched back with an uncontrolled scream of pleasure.

He could feel her tighten around him and came inside her as she arched back.

Never in his life had he felt so satisfied after. He'd never cum at the exact same time as his partner before. He'd never crashed so hard after that he could barely move before either. He shifted just enough that he wasn't fully on top of her, or inside her, anymore.

Ginny felt so dazed after and sleepy. She couldn't move, and she didn't want him to either. She conjured the blanket up to cover them and nuzzled into him a bit and was asleep in an instant.

Harry awoke in the middle of the night, he was incredibly comfortable and relaxed. He wasn't sure what exactly had woken him. He shifted slightly, then he felt something else move. He opened his eyes and made out the shape and scent of a woman.

He'd gotten laid last night? He paused a moment to try to get his brain to clear out the cobwebs. What had happened? He idly wondered if he'd met someone at the pub.

Then it came back to him.

The passionate shagging that occurred between he and Ginny. He stared at her sleeping form intently as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. She was snuggled into his side, and though her head rested almost on his shoulder, it was at the perfect angle with the pillow that his arm wasn't asleep.

Harry didn't know what to do though, or what it meant. She'd told him the tale of the diary and that shared piece of her history had spurred an animalistic need to take her. Though, with how she went at him as well it couldn't really be considered 'taking'.

He wanted to reach over and trace her cheek, run a finger across her lips. She looked so peaceful. But that seemed too intimate.

Sure, they had just copulated, but they hadn't discussed _feelings_. And the two of them having so many years of a misunderstanding between them, he had no idea what it all meant.

"Stop staring at me while I sleep." She mumbled.

Harry bit his lip in an effort not to smile. "Sorry."

She stretched and rolled over to check the time. "It's only three." She looked back at him. She was leaning back on her elbows looking to him. The blanket had shifted down slightly and he could make out the gentle crest of her bosom. "Staying or going?" She asked simply.

"What?" He was confused at the question.

"If you are uncomfortable and want to leave, you can leave." She stated plainly. Then she lay back down to much the position she had been in before, but with about an inch separating them. "But if you want to stay and fall back asleep, you can do that."

Harry hadn't even considered leaving. Right now, he was considering if she would be up for another go around. And he also really needed to pee.

"I want to stay." He said, but he pulled back the blanket. "But I need to use the facilities." He was happy it was so dark in there, she couldn't see him blush slightly, nor could she make out his features exactly.

He got off the bed and made for the bathroom. As soon as he vacated his spot, she moved into it burrowing into the warmth it radiated.

()()()()()

Ginny had felt him shift and wake. She'd shifted slightly, hoping he would just go back to sleep and she would follow right after. But his breath on her face was not that of someone asleep.

They'd fallen asleep before seven, so she was now quite awake after checking the time. Ginny thought back to the screaming orgasm that had knocked her out. She bit her lip and smiled while she wondered if he could illicit that response from her every time, or if it was a one off.

The smile dropped from her face while she pondered if it had been a mistake or not. He was probably confused. They had both acted on impulse, but the heat that was building up again between her legs was telling her to go for round two. Same night, same guy. Did that even count?

She heard the toilet flush and the sink run. Her eyes had adjusted to the darkness when he'd come back into the bedroom and she could make out that he wasn't exactly flaccid at the moment. That sent a tingle through her. She wanted him again.

He climbed back into the bed and they both lay there silently. "Are. Are you awake?" he asked softly.

"Very." She responded simply and turned on her side to face him.

"Right" He turned to face her as well. "I don't generally sleep around a lot, and I'm certainly not going to go ahead and assume that you do either."

Ginny chuckled. "Worried now that some of the rumors were true?" She teased.

"No." He answered quickly. "What I was getting at was that. Well. That was probably the best sex I've ever had." He was so glad it was dark; pillow talk was a real thing. Confessions you couldn't say normally were so much easier in bed in the dark.

She shifted closer to him and reached out to trace the length of his arm. He almost moaned at the simple pleasure of her touch. "I've very much the same feelings about it." She said in a low voice.

He was hard again, she felt him as he went from six to noon. He moved closer to her and kissed her neck. She purred and pressed her breasts against him. "What is this?" He asked between kisses and licks.

She wrapped her leg around him and pushed so he was on his back and she on top of him. "An attempt to put us both back to sleep." She said before kissing him.

Harry wasn't going to question it. The beautiful girl he'd wanted for so long was on top of him naked. Her hot center was so close to his erection. Thinking was overrated. He wanted to be back inside her.

Ginny kissed him from his mouth down his jaw line and neck to just above where his chest hair started. She curved her back so she could grind herself against his shaft. She smiled at his groan. She wanted to tease him right now. See if he'd go all animalistic on her again.

Harry cupped her cheek and brought her mouth to his, delving his tongue into her mouth. He then moved his hands down to her hips and traced circles with his thumbs closer and closer to where he wanted.

Ginny matched his tongue movements and snaked her hand down to his member. He hissed when she made contact. "Please" He begged.

She sat up and lifted herself up over him. Both of their eyes rolled back as she slid him into her. Sitting up the way she was he was so much deeper inside her. She braced herself on his chest and set a steady rhythm.

She groaned every time their pelvises met completely. He gripped her hips harder as she rode him. He was letting out breathy profanity and raising his hips to meet hers with every decent. She felt so good!

He needed more skin contact. He pulled her down so he could feel her breasts grazing his chest as she moved. Ginny buried her head into the pillow beside his head. The added sensations to her clit from this position were bringing her closer to her finish. She tightened around him again and let out a satisfied moan as she came.

He hadn't finished yet. She couldn't keep up with her pace after cumming. He rolled her over so he could take the lead and get to his finish. She was so much tighter and wetter now. It took less than a minute more before he reached his ecstasy.

He groaned his finish and she traced a hand up and down his arm until he moved himself to lay beside her. They both fell asleep again.

()()()()

The smell of coffee was what woke him for the second time that morning. It was encompassing his senses. He cracked and eye open and looked up at an amused Ginny holding out the mug near his nose.

"Good Morning." She said simply. Harry sat up and took the cup.

The light was now pouring in through her single window in the bedroom. "Thank you." He took a sip. He made a slight grimace at the taste of the black coffee.

"I didn't know what you took in it." She responded to his face as she took up the spot on the bed at the far end from where he was now reclining.

"It's fine." He assured her. She was already dressed in jeans and a light sweater. He felt slightly exposed being naked under the comforter. "So…"

She looked amused at him. "So…" She nodded. "Last night was a little unexpected."

He gave her a half grin, half grimace. "Certainly was."

She bit her lip and examined him as she brought her coffee to her lips. Ginny took a sip then rested the mug back down. "Right, I'm just going to say it. I enjoyed what we did last night. I'm only here for a while longer and I'd like to do it again before I leave."

Harry stared at her. She didn't look overly embarrassed at her confession just a slight blush on her cheeks, and she seemed a completely different person from who she was at the Ministry. He'd noticed it last night. It was like as soon as she stepped outside of the Magical world, she could breathe again, and it looked good on her.

"Yes." He said. "I want that too. But I confess I want to truly get to know you. If I don't, I know I will regret it. So… Ginny Weasley can I take you out tonight?"

Ginny smiled at him and shook her head side to side. "No." She smiled. Harry's face dropped. Didn't she just ask for this? Maybe she only wanted to use him for sex? "But I will let you cook me dinner." She went on. Harry felt his eyebrows go into his hair line. "I don't generally eat out in restaurants, and if we are going to get to know each other I'd prefer we not be overheard."

Harry's grin was as wide as it would go. He'd said as much to Ron the day before. He was picturing her at his place now, sitting on the kitchen countertop while he spoon-fed her pasta sauce for tasting, then licking it off her lips.

"Come on. We need some food before we head into the office." She led the way into the main area. He made to stand up and follow her, forgetting for a moment that he was actually naked.

"Erm, I'll be in there in a moment." He blushed and put his coffee down on the dresser. Quickly he pulled on his clothes from the day before, casting a freshening charm on them.

When he made it to the front of the flat with his coffee mug in hand her found her sitting at the table with toast in her mouth and her one leg propped up on the chair in front of her, the morning paper spread out on the table.

"What time did you get up?" He asked. She'd made coffee, currently had toast with jam and peanut butter on it, and seemed to be half way through the paper.

"Crack of dawn. It's only half past six right now, but I thought you might want the chance to run home and change before work." She pushed a plate of toast towards him.

He sat down across from her and took another sip of his coffee, cringing again.

With-out saying anything she stood and took his mug away. "Um…" His brow furrowed. She grabbed milk from the fridge and poured in some sugar, stirred, then set it back down in front of him. He took another sip. This time it was much more pleasant.

"Much better?" She asked. He nodded at her. Then she chewed her lip again. "So, look, Harry." She took a moment, looking straight into his eyes. "I don't know if you find all this quite odd, or what it is you're expecting. But, please know that I have no interest in my family finding out what just happened between us. It could be incredibly uncomfortable. For you, I guess, since I don't really have contact with them."

"I realize that." He jumped in. It was obvious that she had more to tell him but felt the need to assure her. "There is no way that I'm going to mention it to Ron, and though I am close with your family." He caught the momentary uptick of her nose. "What I mean to say is, I won't tell anyone unless you say it's okay."

"Right." Then he noticed a smirk play about her lips. "I also feel the need to point out that I will not be taking it easy on you in training, nor will I be interacting with you at all differently from how I did at the office yesterday."

"Completely understood." She was so different from how she had been at school. So much less guarded, lighter. Back at school he had been only physically attracted to her. While he had been getting sloppy drunk with Ron two nights ago, he had marveled at how sexy it was that she was so… dangerous. The boys telling him about her and Brigette at the brothel had stirred up all kinds of images in his head. Ginny Weasley really was one of a kind, and he very much wanted to get to know her better. Less than two weeks now before she left, and he was sure he could only just crack the surface of her.

Harry picked up a piece of toast and buttered it. "So, tell me what it was like when you first moved to New Zealand." He asked her.

She opened her mouth to respond, but then the flat door opened and Brigette stumbled in. "GINNY!" She hollered and hiccupped. Ginny gave him a tight smile. Brigette stumbled towards her. She had a grey trench coat on that was not buttoned up in the front. The white lingerie peeping out from underneath. She was drunk. "Good, you're here!" She swaggered over and laid down on the floor by the table. "The girls want to take you out! They're making tips hand over fist now, wink wink, and we all want to say THANK YOU! Friday! Alright?"

Ginny was trying not to laugh, and Harry couldn't help keeping his slightly judging look off his face. It was six in the morning and this woman was drunk off her ass and just walked through the streets of London in an outfit that screamed for her to be attacked.

"Hand over fist you say?" Ginny snickered lightly and got up from the table to help lift Bridgette back to her feet. Bridgette let out a snort. "That sounds fantastic. Why don't we get you in to bed now?"

"Mmm, I knew you wanted to take me to bed. That guy didn't quite do the job for you did he?" Bridgette had leaned in and nuzzled Ginny's neck ask she was assisted to her bedroom.

"Now, now. I know you overheard the spectacular finish last night. No teasing the poor man." Ginny looked back and winked at Harry before they disappeared down the hall to the bedrooms.

"So, I guess you're going out Friday night?" Harry asked when she came back into the room.

"Looks that way."

"Um. Don't mean to judge, but does she always come home like that? It seems dangerous."

Ginny shrugged. "Sometimes. But she is a grown woman. What can you do? Most of the people around here know her, and most at 6 a.m. would be intimidated or scared of her at this early hour the way she is." Ginny sat back down and picked up her coffee.

Harry's eyes trailed over her. She was so relaxed. She was such a treat to his eyes in this state. He could imagine coming home to her and waking up with her every morning. Wrapping his arms around her middle while she prepared food at the stove and kissing her neck. He would never have imagined this happening two days ago.

It had only been two days, he reminded himself.

"What have you got planned for us today?"

"Not telling. I'm not going to give you an edge." She smiled softly.

"Sorry. I didn't mean." He sighed. "I was just looking for something to talk about."

"Here's one we didn't touch on yesterday. How is it that the great Harry Potter is still single?"

Harry closed his eyes and shook his head slightly at the question. "I dated a bit before the war properly broke out, and then not again until at least a year after. It was very hard to tell who was properly interested in me, as opposed to my notoriety. Then I just kind of started having one night stands. " He blushed. Ginny didn't seem any more than amused by his admission.

"None of them worth a repeat?"

Harry's eyes darkened as he looked at her. He wanted multiple repeats of last night with her. "Not until now." Ginny licked her bottom lip slightly before biting it looking at him and smiling. "What about you? Where have you been at in the romance department over the last few years?"

"After spending all of my school life on guard for sexual predators it took me a while to let my guard down in that department. Wasn't until a year after I left Britain that I shagged for the first time. Then I… made up for lost time for a while. Never anyone serious. I moved around too much to develop a proper relationship."

()()()()()()

Ron and Harry gave each other a confused look.

They were slotted for the afternoon training session again. No clue what they were going to be getting into, but the morning session had only started about ten minutes ago, and now they were all filing out and headed for the exit. Some looking confident, some completely perplexed.

Everyone who had been sitting at their desks popped their heads up to follow the trail of early session Aurors with their eyes, looking for any indication of what was happening.

"I didn't see her with them." Ron said. Referring to Ginny.

Harry leaned over in his chair to try and see into the conference room. She was still in there. Her Blundstone shoes were propped up on the table she sat at, crossed casually. Harry looked back at Ron and shrugged, turning back to his report littered desk.

Paperwork had been the bulk of his Auror career. He'd thought it would be mission after mission, but it was more noise complaint after misunderstanding. Lots of forms to be filled out. They were all getting this training because they were becoming 'lazy', and he couldn't help but attribute that in part to the paperwork.

And they knew, especially due to the way Ginny had embarrassed them, how unacceptable that was.

"So, do you think I should go in and ask her to dinner now?" Ron asked Harry nervously. He'd mentioned it to Harry the day previous. Harry was actually not sure Ron would follow through on it.

He almost told Ron she couldn't do it that night, but stopped himself. How would he have explained how he knew that Ginny had dinner plans already? "Yeah, go ahead. She's alone right now."

"Right. Yeah. I'll do it now." Ron nodded his head.

He was trying to psyche himself up. Harry smiled to himself at Ron's nervousness. He understood it though. He would be nervous too, and he had shagged her last night. Twice. And it had been amazing.

She said she wanted to keep meeting up with him while she was still there, but he didn't know if he was just supposed to invite her over, or follow her home again? He'd never done this before, and she was very must not just some regular girl.

He watched Ron bob in his seat a few more times before he stood up. It was amusing to watch actually. Ron looked for any and all distractions along the way. Stopped by Cuthbert's desk to ask about how he was healing up after the Bubotuber incident. Commented on a cute picture on Williams' desk of his kids. Went to the kitchen to cast a detection spell on the coffee pot.

Finally he made it into the conference room and shut the door behind him.

Less than two minutes later he was back at his desk.

"Tomorrow." He was red faced. Didn't look like it was due to embarrassment or anger.

"Feeling better?" Harry asked.

Ron swallowed. "I think I'm going to be sick. But I'm relieved, you know?"

"Sure. Now what are you going to tell Hermione?"

"Uh… bringing home two people from work for dinner?"

"Then, when Ginny shows up, won't 'Mione ask you to elaborate on the 'from work' comment?"

"Right. So, maybe I'll just say it's going to be you and … a surprise guest?"

"You don't think MIone is going to pick that one apart?"

"Okay. So, I'll just say you're coming, and Mioine will have an actual surprise guest."

"Seems safest."

"Good." Ron relaxed into his chair, problem fixed.

They got sent out on a quick disturbance call, when they returned a few of the morning training session attendees were back at their desks. Half of them were still missing though. The one's that were back weren't allowed to talk about what happened, but they seemed pretty happy.

At exactly 1p.m. their group was called in. Still thirteen members of the afternoon session, no one had gotten sent to St. Mungo's in the last 24 hours.

Harry took his seat at the front table with Ron beside him again. Ginny had her back to him, she was double checking items in bags on her table. He couldn't help how his eyes travelled up her, taking in the way her jeans were hugging the curves on her lower half.

He remembered the feeling of his hands grazing and gripping her bum in the early hours of that morning. Her hair was plaited down the middle of her back, it wasn't quite as neat as it had been when she'd first plaited it after breakfast.

She was shifting on her feet, still checking the contents of the bags, then she abruptly turned around.

"Okay." Ginny flicked her wand at the door and it closed. "Who can tell me what they noticed about this mornings group?" She was standing tall and confident, with a serious look on her face.

Beverly Hansen spoke up first. "The group was in here for approximately ten minutes, they all left at the same time, but had a staggered return time."

"And was there anything special you noticed about the one's that returned first?"

Beverly thought on it a minute. "Erm. They seemed really happy with themselves?"

Ginny's lip twitched at that. "Anyone else? Guesses?"

"We were out on assignment." Ron pipped up. "Didn't see them come back."

"I saw you leave, and I saw you come back. Some of the people from this mornings session still hadn't returned. What can you tell me about the one's that had?"

"I, erm. Just that they seemed smug." Ron's face tinged pink.

"Alright. You'll understand what I'm asking you for after you learn your assignment." She submitted. "I honestly would have been very surprised, and slightly concerned, if someone was able to tell me what they had in common."

Ginny took the bags from the table and handed them out.

"In these bags you will find everything you need to complete your assignments for today, as well as a piece of paper detailing exactly what your assignment is." She went back to the front. "Each of you should have a ten pound note, an Oyster Card and map of the underground, some of you will have a fifty pound pre-paid credit card or a disposable camera. Read your assignments. You will see that each of you have been assigned to complete a menial task in the Muggle World.

"No magic will be allowed. None of you has the same task. One of you simply has to find a pizza shop and order up a slice. One of you has to get your photo taken on Tower Bridge, then get it developed and bring it back. The most difficult one involves going to an internet café and playing a game of Solitaire."

All of the Auror's, Harry included, were staring at her gape mouthed, waiting for some kind of explanation why.

"Blending in with Muggles is something we should all be able to do. They have customs and expressions that the majority of our world do not understand, and their technology is getting far more advanced than most could even comprehend. Keeping up with them is difficult, but you must know how to convincingly play stupid. They are not privy to our world, but we are to theirs. It is amazing how much intel you can find out through confused Muggles."

She looked over at Ron and Harry. "Like when they see flying cars and need to be obliviated." The two of them looked down at their table a moment as the other Aurors snickered. "I had one case where I had to regular a Muggle coffee shop and kept having to talk with the Barista about some television show called 'Hollyoaks' in between joking about the topic I'd actually been wanting intel on." She told them seriously.

"Now. Who can tell me what they noticed about the ones who returned from their task quickly this morning?"

"They were all muggleborns or half-bloods." Tonks said.

"Yep." Ginny nodded and took her seat. "Now go and complete your assignments, then bring everything back here. You should aim to complete your task in roughly an hour." They all stood up. "Oh! One last thing. No helping each other. You can only get assistance from Muggles." She called out.

Harry heard Ron curse under his breath. Hermione had tried to get him to learn more about the Muggle world, but he'd resisted it for the most part. Loved the breakfast cereals. Harry was sure that Ron was planning on getting Harry to assist him.

Harry had checked the bag he got to make sure it had the items she'd mentioned. His task was to find a Primark and purchase jeans and a white t-shirt. He had to chat with a sales associate, and bring back the receipt wearing the clothes.

He smiled at his assignment. It was a completely normal task, for a Muggle. He really hoped that the Auror that had to go to the internet café was at least a half-blood. Even Harry would have trouble with that one.

It took him a while to locate a Primark, he had to use the Oyster card to get on the underground in order to get to the clothing store and back in under an hour. He asked the store clerk about if he'd watched the previous nights football game, then another one he asked permission to change into his new purchases before leaving the store. Then he took the tube back and was at the office in under fifty minutes.

It looked like he was the first one back. Ginny was still sitting at her table at the front of the room. She was bent over, scribbling on parchment with… an ear bud in her ear. She was listening to something on a Muggle device.

He entered the room and closed the door behind him. She looked up and held a finger to her lips, then reached her hand out, indicating she wanted his bag back. He handed it over and she traced the shoulder strap and took a small rectangular black box out of a hidden compartment. She clicked on of the buttons on it, then leaned back in her chair, smiling demurely.

"Looking good Potter." She appraised him in his new clothes.

"Is this what you want me wearing for our dinner tonight?" He flirted, puffing out his chest a bit.

She pouted slightly, pretending to think it over. "You can if you want to, but I will say one thing about Primark clothes." She smiled and traced her upper teeth with her tongue slowly, then leaned forward and lowered her voice. "They'll rip right off you pretty easily."

Harry sucked in a shallow breath. Dam this girl was hot. He needed to change the subject back to a work topic before she gave him a full on erection. These jeans would not hide that.

"Was that a recording device?" He asked her.

She sat up and put her professional demeanor back into place, just giving him a look that said she wouldn't tell. "You can go back to your work now. There will be a meeting at four in here to discuss today's assignment."

Harry nodded and returned to his desk. He saw Carson Mitchel from the mornings group dressed in jeans and a white t-shirt. They gave each other a half smile, and he got back to his paperwork.

Ron came back nearly an hour later. He went into the conference room and dropped off his bag. It didn't look like he said much more to her than "Here" and headed back to his desk. He sank into his chair and gave a frustrated sigh, running his hands over his face.

"You didn't get the internet café one, did you?" Harry laughed.

"No, I had to get a mobile phone. It was the most confusing experience of my life. I still don't understand 90 percent of what the bloke said. What the fuck is 'load'? And why did he keep pressing me to buy it?"

Harry had to bite his lip to keep from laughing uproariously in his friends face.

The meeting at four was for both groups to attend. Once everyone was back, Harry could tell that the general consensus was that the Auror's really approved of the days task they'd been assigned. It was out of the box, and should probably have been part of their Auror training.

They'd all been concerned after yesterdays lesson that every day would test their magic like they had never been tested before. But after today, they were relieved to know it wasn't all going to be like that.

Tonks was actually smiling at Harry and Ron when they sat by her for the meeting.

"I got the pizza task! I'd never had it before!" She told them. "I'm bringing a whole pizza home for Remus and Teddy tonight. Can't believe my dad never got us one while I was growing up! Totally robbed!" Her hair was the electric blue that it went when she was completely jazzed about something.

The jovial murmuring in the room went away completely when Ginny walked in.

Even Head Auror Scrimgeour didn't command that kind of attention.

She went up to the board at the front and stuck two large photo's up. Both of Auror's at Tower Bridge. One was Beverly looking stiff, the other was Seamus striking a pose and winking.

"The majority of you were able to complete your assignments with minimal complications." She told the room. "Some of you blended in perfectly, some of you … not so much." She cast a cursory glance at a few people. "What only one of you realized, right at the end, is that I was recording you so that I would be able to hear exactly what you did."

A few people sat up straight at that. "For the most part, what I've heard so far has been entertaining. Some of you can string together an impressive amount of profanity." Harry and Tonks exchanged a look before the took in Ron's demeanor.

Ginny continued. "I was not happy to discover that some of you cheated, and used magic. Those that did will be pulled aside for a meeting with the Head Auror later. But, over all, well done. My suggestion to everyone that had trouble with the Muggle terminology is to practice and accent." She cleared her throat slightly and put on an American, Texas, accent. "Y'all'll be more believable if they think yer from somewhere that don't call cellphone's mobiles, or kin claim that them machines just work so different back home."

She switched back to her regular voice. "By now you've discussed what your assignments were, and exchanged your stories." They all nodded. "Who thinks they had the hardest?" Five people raised their hands. She pointed at one. "What was your assignment?"

"Had to go and get pizza."

"What?!" Tonks asked loudly. "I had the same one. How was that hard?"

"I had to find somewhere that makes it! I wound up asking a Muggle where I should go, and they told me to get on the 'tube' to 'Eleph and Cas' for a 'wicked good slice, innit.' Wound up staring at the stupid underground map for ages until I realized they meant Elephant and Castle station. It was just one set of confusing directions after another."

The whole room was laughing, even Ginny had a smile on her face. "I did quite enjoy listening to that one." She admitted.

The rest were along the same lines. Just confusing Muggle conversations, mostly involving talking to chavs.

"Right then, so, as I said, overall good job. I hope each of you will have learned something from today's assignment. Dismissed." She headed out and into the Head Auror's office.

Everyone else lingered, sharing the rest of their stories of crazy Muggles.

"Want to grab a pint at the Leaky before I head home?" Ron asked Harry.

"No, thanks. You go home to Hermione and tell her about dinner tomorrow night. I'm going to go home and veg on the couch. See you tomorrow."

Ron cringed a bit but nodded and grabbed his cloak, then headed out. Harry looked around to see if he could find Ginny. She wasn't anywhere to be found.

They had discussed her going over to his for dinner, but not the specifics on how they would meet up. Knowing her she probably had already found out his address somehow.

He pulled on his jacket and headed out, hoping she'd track him down.

He'd just gotten on to Diagon Alley when he heard two synchronized dings come from his jacket pocket. He put his hand in the pocket and pulled out a little blue Nokia mobile. A slow smile came to his face. She'd stuck on to the phones purchased from today's assignments and slipped it into his jacket. He pressed one of the buttons and the phone lit up. There was a text message.

"Sainsbury. 1 km NW of Leaky. 15 min. G"

He didn't know how to text her back, but he liked her methods.

The grocers she wanted to meet him at was on the way to his place, and he would have had to stop and get food to make for dinner anyways. He couldn't help smiling to himself the entire walk to the grocers.

Harry grabbed a basket and started perusing the aisles. She'd made them a pretty healthy dinner, and a standard breakfast. He wasn't sure what to make for her. He'd never made dinner for a girl before, he'd always gone out on his dates.

If he brought someone back to his place, the most he'd do was dessert and how hard was it to assemble ice cream and chocolate sauce?

He paused in the aisle at the thought of whether Ginny would let him lick chocolate sauce off of her. He blinked a few times and shook the thought out of his head.

Dinner.

He needed to find something for dinner.

"Ever tried Gnocchi?" Came a female voice behind him.

"Can't say I have." He smiled and turned around to face her. She looked fairly relaxed again. There was a healthy glow on her cheeks. There was something about her eyes too. At the headquarters they seemed so strict, or lifeless. Now they had this playful glimmer about them. Maybe that was just her transforming to match her surroundings. They did call her the Chameleon after all.

"What is Gnocchi? Please don't tell me it's like kale or something. Or complicated to make."

She laughed a light tinkling laugh and walked around him down the aisle. "It's just like pasta, except easier." She bent down at the pasta shelf and grabbed a package of what looked like little dumplings. "What do you have at home?" She asked, putting the packet in his basket.

"Best to assume I've got nothing." He said, to be on the safe side. She smiled and led him down to the soups. "You put it in soup?" He was puzzled. She said it was like pasta, didn't she?

"No, this is going to be turned into a nice sauce." She explained adding a cream of mushroom soup to his basket. "Just because it is marketed as one thing, doesn't mean it doesn't have multiple uses."

"Huh. Condensed soup as a sauce." He looked at the price tag on the shelf. "Hey! It's cheaper too! I've been getting ripped off."

She shook her head and glanced back at him, still smiling as she carried on towards the meat department. "Probably want lamb or chicken with this." She said looking at the pre-wrapped selections.

"Let's do lamb. I've got some nice herbs that'd be well suited." She popped a small pack of lamb in the basket, then some sharp cheese.

Harry couldn't help but think how nice this was. Doing the shopping with someone, then they were going to go to his place to make up this delicious dinner. She had a wider culinary knowledge than he did, that much was obvious from the cheese alone, he was sure he'd love whatever dishes she suggested. Whatever dressing was on their salad last night had certainly turned a simple chicken salad into something amazing.

They made their way to the cash and she grabbed a bottle of white wine too. "There, all the food groups. Meat, breads, dairy." She handled the wine bottle teasingly. "Fruits and vegetables." He laughed at that.

They didn't say much of anything after he paid for the food and they made their way to his place. It was a very comfortable silence between them. He boldly linked his arm with hers, and felt a little warmth go through him when she didn't pull away.

Harry let them into his building. He'd moved into his flat after getting rid of Grimmauld Place about three years ago. That place was too dark and depressing. And there was only him to occupy it after Ron and Hermione bought their own place. Harry couldn't maintain it, and didn't want another House Elf, so he sold it, along with almost everything in it. Save for the mounted House Elf heads that were disposed of.

His flat was about three times the size of the place Ginny was staying. He was on the third floor. It had two bedrooms and a study, hardwood floors, as rather large bathroom, without a separate water closet, which was surprisingly rare for flats his size.

The space felt open, and light. It was all pleasant colored walls and comforting area rugs. Hermione helped him pick out furniture, and really bring the place together.

"So, er, welcome to my place." Harry said as he opened the door for her. He saw a flicker of surprise and admiration cross her face. He'd had the same reaction the first time he saw the space.

The front door opened to the wide sitting room. The windows made the room seem larger than it was. The kitchen was immediately to his right, the bedrooms and such were all to the left.

"Very nice place Potter."

"Thanks." He smiled. "I'm quite proud of it."

"I'll bet." She kicked off her boots and wandered into the room more while Harry took his groceries to the kitchen.

The kitchen wasn't closed off from the sitting room, the main functional parts of the kitchen were along the wall, with a big island separating it from the rest of the room. He pulled out some cookware and read the instructions on the Gnocchi telling him how to deal with it. He glanced over at Ginny and saw her looking at the pictures he had framed on the wall and had a momentary panic.

They were mostly him with her family at weddings and birthdays. He wasn't sure if he should say something. What was he going to do? Apologize for him being there, and not her? He decided that the wine would probably help, so he grabbed two glasses and filled them up to bring one over to her.

"Is this your mum and dad?" She asked accepting the glass from him.

She was looking at the photo of James Potter and, at the time, Lily Evans dancing around and spinning, laughing in a court yard somewhere.

"Yeah." He smiled. "I love that one."

"I see there's several from the Weasley events too." She pointed, and said in a tone he took to indicate that she didn't need him to avoid that topic.

He sighed. "Yeah. I'm at the Burrow at least once a month for some event of another."

"Mmhmm. Birthdays, Anniversary's, Weddings." She listed off.

"Baby showers, job promotions, etcetera." He added on.

"And I'm sure if there's a lull in any of those, my mum will come up with something." She said lightly.

"Your dad actually owled me about one on Sunday."

"Where Percy will tell you all that his wife is pregnant, and you will act surprised."

Harry's head snapped over to her at that. She had a playful smile on her lips. "How do you know that"

She turned her attention to look him in the eyes. "Maybe I pulled the Weasley health records, or maybe I'm a Seer." She widened her eyes out and took a sip of her wine.

"Or?" He indulged her.

She smiled widely. "Or maybe I heard something in the lift when I was… shall we say, not myself."

Harry let out a single laugh, then turned back to the 'Wall of Weasley.' "You don't mind" He gestured broadly to all the photos. "All of this?"

"You mean, do I mind that while I may be a part of the Weasley's by blood, you were adopted in, while I was essentially considered dangerous and forgotten?"

He sighed again. "Yeah. That."

She moved closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder. It was a personal and comfortable move on her part. He felt pleasantly warm again. He put his arm around her shoulder and drew her in tighter to his side. "I came to terms with it long ago. I'm sure you still would have been a part of the family, even if I hadn't been given that blasted Diary, but I choose to look at it like I wouldn't be the same person, or put away as many evil bastards as I have if things went differently." She shrugged. "It is nice to know that they are all happy." She gestured broadly to the wall, just as he had done.

"But are you happy?" He asked her honestly.

She tilted her head up to look at him, he lowered his head to look back at her. She reached up and kissed him. It was a brief kiss, but felt like something they'd been doing for years. Familiar and complete.

"I'm happy enough." She said. "And I'll be happier with some food."

"Right. Dinner." He smiled and they headed back to the kitchen area. "Okay. So, I'm familiar enough with the flavor of cream of mushroom soup that I think I can get the lamb taken care of, if you can deal with the other bits."

Ginny smiled and set down her wine glass. "Deal."

They chatted all the way through dinner prep and dinner about the exploits the Auror's had with their Muggle experience that day. She did a pretty spot on impression of Ron and his colorful language used whilst trying to navigate purchasing a mobile phone that had Harry choking on his Gnocchi. After, Harry put the dishes to clean themselves and they moved over to sit on the couch.

Then they were laying on the couch, completely entangled in each other. He had just enough presence of mind to make sure the privacy spell was indeed on the windows before he gave the neighbors a good show of him completely ravishing his redheaded seductress in plain view of the city.

**This was originally two chapters, but that didn't work for the timeline of past and present (meaning 2004) chapters. **

**Always have mixed feelings about even reading reviews, so just add me to your Favorites, or Follows if you like it.**

**And a shout out to the Guest reader who tore apart a bad review for me, pretty sure one of the 'terms' you have to agree to when posting a story is that you will 'suck it up' (paraphrasing) when someone decides your work is stupid. So thank you, because that one had me in a funk.**


	6. Third Year

**Third Year of Hogwarts- 1994-1995**

Ginny had high hopes for her summer at the Burrow. She hadn't gotten into trouble during her second year and her marks were pretty respectable after her finals. She thought that maybe her parents and her brothers might have come around and included her a bit. Maybe seem a little more forgiving about how awful she'd been to them the majority of her first year.

But Ron would completely ignore her and push past her, the twins would prank her room with their experiments, and Percy would turn up his nose when ever he saw her. Her Dad gave her these weary little looks like he was waiting for her to say something that would set off her mother.

Her mother would bark chores at her and then leave. If Ginny was in the kitchen it was 'do the dishes' and then she'd leave for the sitting room. If Ginny was in the sitting room she would tell her to dust, and then she'd go out to deal with the laundry. She couldn't stand being in the same room with her.

Ginny was at the point of just wanting to yell out at all of them that it wasn't her fault. Whatever happened her first year. It hadn't been her. But she couldn't bloody get it out.

Then Harry showed up and she really felt like she'd hit rock bottom.

It wasn't Harry's fault, mind you. He didn't realize that him coming down to the sitting room in the Weasley Christmas sweater with an 'H' on the front would make things so much worse for her. He had gotten one last Christmas and Ginny hadn't. That stung. Ginny had been passing through the sitting room from the kitchen to head upstairs and away from the sidelong glances when he came down. The rest of her family was in the sitting room. He popped up in front of her and she couldn't take her eyes off of his sweater.

"Doesn't he look nice in his sweater." Fred said.

"Yeah. Like a real member of the family." George picked up.

"Some people just appreciate these things." Her mother said. "You look quite nice Harry. I'm glad to see you wearing that. I always put so much care into them." She shot Ginny a look.

Ginny felt her face go red with anger and stomped up the stairs to her room before she said anything to dig her into the ground any deeper.

Hermione came to the Burrow the night before they were all due to leave for the World Cup. All meaning all of the Weasley boys, her dad, and Harry and Hermione. Ginny had to stay home with her mum. Apparently she was too young to go. Except she knew that was a lie. She was being punished. Her dad basically blew apart a Muggle living room, her twin brothers had fed prank sweets to Harry's cousin and nearly had him suffocating to death, but she was the one that was denied the privilege. She used to love Quidditch too.

Hermione didn't like Quidditch, but she'd been invited to go. And she had to stay in Ginny's room for the one night as well. The night she was there Ginny had gone up to bed early, Hermione wasn't too far behind her with that idea. She crawled into the camp bed and they lay there quiet in the dark.

"Ginny?" Hermione whispered.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you." Ginny blurted out.

"I... okay." Hermione said. There was a long stretch of silence. "Did you like your book?"

Ginny thought about it. She had meant the Count of Monte Cristo. She did like it. It had everything one could want from a book. Suspense, adventure, romance, fighting. It had transported her out of her life for a while. "It was alright." She said. 'And I'm the one responsible for you getting petrified. But not really.' Ginny added in her head. "Good night."

While the others were at the World Cup Ginny would have alone time with her mother. During Ron's first year of school, when Ginny was the only child home, her mum and she would take a break from all of the chores and lessons at three to sit down over tea together. They would talk, and gossip and just 'be'. Now it would be just the two of them again, and at three in the afternoon she put the kettle on. It had been over a year. Ginny decided she didn't care how ridiculous it sounded, or what her mum's reaction would be, it was time to tell her.

She made the tea and sat down and waited. The tea grew cold while she waited. She poked her head in all of the bedrooms and around the garden and the orchard, but she couldn't find her.

She went to her room and sat down on her bed. Her mum really couldn't stand being around her, so much so that she'd buggered off on the only day that she didn't have anyone else to run interference or something. She went to the window as the sun was going down and saw her coming down the path with grocery bags. She'd gone to town. Something they used to do together too.

It was late by the time Ginny managed to pull herself together. She went downstairs and saw her mum in her chair in the sitting room. She stood in the doorway between the stairs and the kitchen and psyched herself up. She could do this.

"Mum." She said hesitantly. Her mother looked over at her frowning. "I." She paused. Her mum wasn't getting up to go to another room, or looking around the room for any excuse to not look at her. "Mum, I-"

"MOLLY!"

"MUM!"

There were shouts coming from the garden and her mum jumped up from her chair and ran to the kitchen as all of the Weasley's and Ron's friends came in, looking ragged and dirty.

There had been a Death Eater attack at the World Cup. Ron, Harry and Hermione had somehow almost been killed by Auror's.

Ginny saw her opportunity to tell her mum everything pass her by. She was too weak to tell her the truth anyways.

()()()()()()()

The was the best description for the castle at the start of her third year was 'chaos'. Everyone was so excited about the two new schools impending arrival and the Tri-Wizard Tournament that there was chaos. No one was paying attention to their studies, they just wanted to gossip. Ginny found opportunity in that. Her body had begun developing and she needed particular under clothes that she'd never needed before, and once a month she needed a potion for a few days that she hadn't yet learned to brew correctly, and didn't have the ingredients for. She had started growing quite a bit taller too, her uniform trousers were ending well above her ankle.

She wouldn't dare ask her parents for money, however she was surrounded by spoiled brats that had no interest in doing their assignments. Her twin brothers had started a business peddling their prank products, that gave her the idea to do her business.

On a very small scale, and anonymously. She slipped a note to one of her younger house mates that she could get them an essay. Five Sickles a foot, and she'd need a copy of their previous assignments. And thus she afforded her necessities.

It could be dangerous to her school career if she was caught and reported, but she was the one to instigate every time, and never left the completed works in the same spot. She would only do this for the same person once a month as well. There had been a few of the students that had tried to figure out who she was in the first few months, but she never helped them out again.

By the time the Durmstrang and Beaubaton students arrived she was doing about 4 Galleons a week. Her potions supply's were very nicely stocked, and she had a few beautiful brassieres. There was no way she could get a new uniform though with-out arousing suspicion. She had managed some second hand trousers that looked the same as her old ones.

Everyone being so focused on the tournament and the new students left little time for her to be bullied, that was allowing her room to breath. She'd mastered her impassive mask now, the one that betrayed no emotion, and made her just another face in the crowd.

And then some stupid Durmstrang boy had to come up to her in the hall one day and throw it all to shit.

"I is Nikolai Anev." The boy said. He was a foot taller than her and had been hanging out around Adrian Pucey and his cronies. He had a shy look to him, shy by Bulgarian standards anyway. He was still broad shouldered and tan with dark hair and dark eyes. The corner of his lips twitched up almost involuntarily. "I like your hair."

She'd been on her way to Runes and cut through the courtyard. She wanted to kick herself for not taking a less travelled route now. She couldn't think of a response that would work best to her advantage. A 'Thank-you' would probably spur further communication. A soft smile would indicate that she may be interested in him.

"I notice you. You notice me?" He continued.

She stood there, stone faced and contemplating her options. "I notice I am late for class." She decided.

"I walk you?" He asked as she moved around him.

"I can find it myself." She dismissed him.

"Dodged a bullet there mate." She heard someone say loudly to Nikolai. "She may look pretty, but she's a crazy bitch." Ginny clenched her jaw and kept on. If that description of her kept the boys away, then she'd take it.

Later that night when she was brushing her teeth before bed she thought about it. Being considered a crazy bitch she could deal with. That was no where near as dangerous as being considered pretty. She'd heard stories of unwanted advances from the other girls.

Ginny looked at herself in the mirror. Her lips were a soft pink, her nose wasn't pointed, or squished like Pansy Parkinson's. And her freckles were no where near as prevalent as they were before she started school. Less time in the sun over the years had made them fade. Her eyes were a honey brown colour, and her eyebrows had a nice enough arch to them naturally. Her hair was getting quite long, and the red had darkened to a more auburn red. She guessed she was fairly pretty, and could tell she would grow to be even more so as she matured.

That would be a problem.

She put her toothbrush away and went to her bed, drawing the hangings closed and casting her newly learned muffling and sticking charms. And she lay in bed to think.

If Tom hadn't corrupted her life, then she'd probably be in Gryffindor Tower right then, gossiping with her dorm mates about how one of the older boys from Durmstrang talked to her. Her brothers would have gotten all protective and threatened the boy to stay away. She would have felt some kind of empowerment from the attention.

But she didn't feel empowered. She felt endangered.

Glamour charms were something she hadn't worked on, perhaps there was a way to sort of, de-glamour, herself. Maybe there was a spell that could make her look more non-descript. Dullen her hair, maybe add more freckles. Muddy up her eyes a bit. Maybe that would be enough. Being more plain should get her passed over by the boys.

She'd been focusing her spare time on transfiguration spells to make her clothes fit better. They were getting too snug. Shrinking clothes down to fit was easy enough, for some reason making them larger was harder to do with-out making them enormous.

She fell asleep thinking about what books she'd have to find in the library to make her less noticeable.

()()()()()()

Ginny wasn't in attendance when Harry Potter's name was pulled from the Goblet of Fire. And she wasn't in the stands to watch the four champions in their first task either. She avoided large gatherings.

The whole of the rest of the school had made their way to the Quidditch pitch for the first task and she'd never seen the castle so empty.

The castle being empty was exactly what she needed as she snuck into the DADA classroom. She had to master this lesson before she had an audience. They were going to deal with a Boggart soon, and she couldn't let the class see what her greatest fear was.

Ginny shivered at the thought of seeing him again, but needed to see if she could trick it.

Professor Moody was super paranoid, surely for good reasons, but that made her cautious when she snuck into the classroom. She made careful observation of the door to the room. There didn't seem to be anything to trip an alarm. Even so, she tread carefully as she approached the rattling wardrobe containing the apparition.

She took a deep steadying breath as she reached for the door knob. She'd read and re-read all she could about Boggarts, and practiced the spell over and over again until she was sure she would be able to get it right on the first try.

Spiders. She was afraid of spiders. Spiders are terrifying. Eight legs, multiple eyes, creepy, crawly, terrifying.

She opened the door and stepped back. 'Spiders' she thought as a black mist came out. 'Spiders are the scariest thing out there.' The mist morphed slowly, as though confused. She thought of the image in her Magical Beasts and Where to find them book of Acromantula's.

Finally, the Boggart morphed into the beast. Ginny let out a sigh of relief staring at the enormous eight legged, fanged beast that was her undoing.

The Boggart morphed again, into Tom Riddle.

She froze in horror.

Standing there in front of her was the boy that had stood over her in the room in her mind that she'd been trapped in, with that same smirk on his face. He charged forward and grabbed her by the front of her shirt and pulled her close to him roughly. "You stupid girl." Boggart Tom Riddle yelled at her. "I'm sending you right back there. You'll never be free of me." He pushed her and she fell back against the desks behind her and down onto the floor. Boggart Tom loomed over her and she tried quickly to think of a way to make him funny.

He had a malicious grin come over his face as he looked her over. "I see you're developing into a very pretty girl." He crouched down in front of her and trailed a finger down her cheek. "I may have another use for your body too."

She stared into his dark eyes and was reminded of that dog she spent an afternoon with the previous year. The one she suspected, but had no proof, of being Sirius Black.

"Riddikulus." She pointed her wand at him.

Boggart Tom started barking like a dog, and scratching behind his ear. Ginny forced herself to laugh as her scared tears rolled down her cheek, and managed to send the Boggart back into the wardrobe before collapsing in a desk chair and putting her head in her hands. That had combined two of her deepest darkest fears.

That had not been thought through enough.

There was a distant sound of yelling coming from Professor Moody's office. Ginny turned her head sharply in that direction. It sounded like a person was yelling. Like a person trying to get someone's attention. She stared at the door to the office. She heard it again.

This was the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. And Mad-Eye Moody was supposedly a super paranoid ex-Auror. He would have all kinds of mysterious objects that she didn't understand, and possibly that let out yells like that. She thought about whether she should investigate. Going into the office didn't sound like a good idea. She would get in enough trouble if she was caught being in the classroom, let alone his personal office. She decided she didn't want to know what that was.

Ginny went over to the window, needing to give herself a minute before she tried to deal with the Boggart again.

The Quidditch Pitch was visible from there. There was a small burst of fire she could see from inside the stadium. Then a light green dragon appeared for a moment only. If she hadn't felt sorry for Harry Potter before, she did now. He was fourteen and had to face a dragon.

Her brow furrowed and she frowned, that meant there were four dragons at the school. They wouldn't use the same dragon for each of the competitors. That would give the last one an unfair advantage.

There was a small chance her brother Charlie was around somewhere then. Ginny sighed. Apparently Tom had done his job in alienating her from Charlie too.

She looked back at the wardrobe.

Spiders, and spiders tap dancing.

She focused her attention as hard as possible.

It worked. The spider came to life, and the spider tap danced. No Tom reappeared.

()()()()()()

Ginny hadn't quite nailed her glamour charms by December, and the Nikolai boy found her again and asked her to the dance. It was kind of gross when she thought about their age difference, but she was quite a bit taller than the other girls in her year. She was hoping he didn't realize that he was asking out someone four years younger than him. Maybe that was the norm in Bulgaria.

She had prepared for this, just in case, using a translation rune she'd had to write about for a fifth year for the grammar. "Az sum tvurde mlad za teb. Ne blagodarya." She told him as straight faced as she could, in what was probably the worst Bulgarian pronunciation he'd ever heard. But that got the message across just fine, and so that none of the French, or Hogwarts students would understand. (Translation: I am too young for you. No thank-you.)

But then a rumor started that she'd told him she was flattered and offered to give him a blow job, just because he'd noticed her.

Apparently she'd given one to a few of the Durmstrang boys if the rumors were to be believed. Any time she wasn't at dinner with the rest of the school, that's what she was doing. Not hiding out and completing essays or practicing her magic.

While she didn't understand why everyone was still making up rumors about her of all people, at least the lies wouldn't get her in as much trouble as the truth.

Ginny skipped the second task too. It all took place under water anyways, not exactly a spectators sport.

()()()()()

It kind of felt to Ginny, like she had a mission, or purpose now. Writing essays for money had given her something to do while she hid out in the library, or somewhere else. The subjects she was writing about, particularly if it was for an upper class-man, was helping her learn more too. And it was easy enough to write endlessly about the theory behind spells, and the history and origins, with out being able to actually do the spells.

She'd tried to cast the Patronus charm after writing three separate two foot essays. It didn't work for her.

She was glad she'd thought to make these students she was writing them for include a copy of their previous work. Trying to imitate their writing style was really the only way to differentiate the essays so they didn't all look the same.

The tournament was giving her tormentors something else to direct their energy at too. However there were still several lewd comments that were sent her way and every now and then she would feel someone grab at her.

Ron caught Adrian Pucey corner her, and he had actually rescued her in a way. Though he didn't realize that was what he'd done.

Adrian was a prefect, and a pervert with a sense of entitlement that came from being on the Quidditch team and a pureblood Slytherin.

She'd been hurrying back to the Common Room after dropping off an essay for Dean Thomas, a Gryffindor. Adrian was on his way to start his rounds and caught her alone in a corridor.

"Ah! Weasley. Out after curfew I see." He gave her a predatory smile and looked her over carefully as he made her way towards her slowly, stalkingly.

She froze. "It. It's not yet curfew." She stuttered and glanced around to see if there might be someone else there that could be a witness to whatever was about to happen or provide some sort of way out. She backed away from him.

He continued towards her and backed her against a wall and held her upper arms so she couldn't get away. "I say it is." He whispered in her ear and pressed himself against her. "Now what would you be willing to do to get out of trouble?" He rubbed against her and she could feel his manhood grow hard against her hip. He ducked his head and she turned hers abruptly to the side. She could probably manage to bring up her knee and get him in the jewels. Maybe he wouldn't want to tell anyone about that.

He let out a laugh at her reaction and let go of one of her arms to cup her breast. "These are coming in nicely." He grabbed at her through her shirt aggressively and she whimpered. "I can tell they'll look nice under this button down as well. Perky" He tweaked her nipple and lowered his head again biting her hard at the base of her neck and she let out a small scream. "Bet you like it rough, don't you?"

There were hurried footsteps coming from the direction she'd come from. "Oi!" Adrian pulled back slightly and looked over at the new arrivals. It was Dean Thomas and he had Ron with him.

"What?" Adrian asked him angrily.

Dean took stock of who it was that was in the corridor and looked over to Ron for some kind of direction. Ginny locked eyes with her brother. She was so relieved to see him. She hoped he could read the situation and how scared she was.

He didn't.

He looked disgusted with her. She was a third year and Adrian was a sixth. That alone should have tipped him off that this was not wanted attention on her part. "Ugh. You know there are at least broom cupboards for that."

"What can I say. She wants it where she wants it." Adrian smirked at them and rubbed against her again.

She looked at Adrian incredulously. The nerve! He attacks her and tells them she wanted it? She thrust her pelvis off the wall to get him to move backwards. He let her go and she stormed off towards Slytherin. He didn't make a move to follow her.

She heard him turn back to Ron. "Your sister is a real feisty one. I like that."

Ron scoffed and she picked up her pace.

She flew through the Common Room and received a few looks and comments on the state of her uniform and hair. When she got to her dorm room she went immediately to the bathroom and checked herself in the mirror. Her hair was in disarray at the back and her shirt was ruffled, and slightly off center. Her face was completely flush with anger as well.

Yep, she looked like she'd just been ravaged. Ginny growled in frustration and rage and locked the door to have a shower. She was so angry with herself for letting that happen. She'd had her wand on her, and he hadn't even used magic, simply his size and strength to overpower her.

Ginny took off her shirt and looked at her arms where he'd held her. They were already starting to show the bruise of his fingers. Her neck was displaying a pretty obvious bite mark. The worst part of all of it was how she had no control of the situation.

Again, she couldn't even find her voice to ask Dean and Ron for help. And why not?

She quickly peeled off the rest of her clothes to get in the shower. She desperately wanted to hide her tears, even if it was just from herself.

Ginny had had to do a few essays on the disillusionment charm for sixth years. She needed to practice that one. There was no way she wanted this situation to happen again.

She grabbed the soap and scrubbed aggressively at every part on her body that he had come in contact with. As she scrubbed she got more and more angry. Not with herself though, at Adrian Pucey.

She was so tired of being the victim. From now on she was going to pay special attention to him and find a way to make him pay for this.

()()()()()

Before the third task was upon them she'd managed to figure out a spell that made her dorm mates completely forget where her bed and belongings were. Super useful. There was a partial circle around her bed and desk area that they just kind of glossed over.

The morning of the last task she was looking forward to having free reign of the library while everyone was once again down at the Quidditch Pitch when she got a shock.

Her mum and brother Bill were walking around with Harry.

She ducked out of their sight behind a tapestry in an alcove while they passed. She had figured Harry Potter had taken her place as the seventh Weasley by now, but it made her want to cry when ever she saw someone from her family hugging him. When she was sure they'd passed, she continued back towards the library and had another shock seeing the Headmaster with a dog. The exact same dog she'd assumed was Sirius Black.

She kept her mask in place, not letting on how confused she was about the situation. But she did lock eyes with the dog for only a moment before she passed them. The dog winked at her. She was positive that it had winked at her.

It was Sirius Black. She bloody well knew it too! So Sirius Black was in cahoots with Albus Dumbledore. That probably meant that he was actually innocent of his crimes.

Unless it actually was a dog and she was actually crazy, she reminded herself.

Ginny did not attend the farewell feast. It would be a morose affair.

One of the champions had died.

Everyone seemed super surprised about it, but the reason that there hadn't been a Tri-Wizard Tournament in centuries was because the champions would wind up dead. In her head she was grateful that it hadn't been Harry Potter that died. He didn't deserve that. Not that Cedric Diggory _did_ deserve to die. It was just that she didn't know him as well as she knew Harry.

On the train back to London she finally overheard about Dumbledore and Harry Potter claiming that Voldemort was back.

She wasn't stupid either. She had figured out who he really was. She didn't spend endless hours in the library still too dumb to be able to connect the dots.

Tom Riddle was back.

And her Boggart wasn't going to be turning into a spider anymore.


	7. Unsolved Cases

Little bit of M rated stuff below. Enjoy.

**London- 2004**

Ginny awoke comfortably sandwiched with a pillow pressed against her front, and Harry spooning her back. It was a very pleasant way to wake-up. He was so snuggly warm behind her. Squinting at the light coming in through the window, best guess she had was that it was around 6 a.m.

Last night had been delicious. Dinner and dessert. Dessert of course being Harry.

She rubbed her thighs together at the memory. Her wiggling causing her bum pressed against his pelvis making him let out a very soft moan of appreciation.

They'd been so caught up in each other on his couch they didn't even make it off the couch, for the first round anyways. The second round they'd made it into his bedroom for.

Ginny properly opened her eyes and looked around the room. She hadn't taken any time to study the space last night. Her hormones had been driving her slightly mad with want. She had seen his desire in his eyes and felt his desperation for more of her through his trousers. It was more intoxicating than the wine.

Now she took her time to appraise his room.

He had a nice big window on the exterior wall, a walk in closet on the far side of the room, and another door that most likely led to a bathroom. There was an armoire against the wall separating the two doorways with a television on it. He had a full length mirror at an angle between the bathroom door and the door to the rest of the flat on the next wall.

The walls were a nice warm neutral color. Either Harry had very good taste, or he hired an interior designer. All of his furniture and walls were so perfect for the space.

A tinkling sound came from the other room. Ginny moaned. It was her mobile, and not the one she'd swiped from the bags yesterday to contact Harry with. She snuck out from under Harry's arm and rolled over the pillow to get out of the bed.

Picking up his white t-shirt from last night she pulled it over her naked form to pad along the cold floor to her jacket by the exit.

It was Bridgette. She was one of only a few people that had this number.

"Heyya." Ginny said quietly as she rubbed her eyes and carried on to the kitchen in search of a way to make coffee.

"Hey love, just checking in. You didn't come home yesterday, and weren't here this morning either. Got a little concerned. You on a new job?"

Ginny started opening cupboard doors. "No. Wound up having dinner at Harry's place. Then.. just stayed." She knew Bridgette would be able to hear the smile in her voice.

"That good in bed is he?"

"Best yet." She heard Bridgette yawn. "Everything still working good at work?"

"Oh. Yeah. Little exhausted. Mary got the bar shift last night. I had the pink room. Little sore right now."

Ginny set the kettle to fill, then placed it on the stove while she continued her search for caffeine. "Were some of the gents a little too rough last night?"

"No more than I'm used to. Wishing we had a tub here though."

Ginny hummed in assent, shifting herself slightly and noting some of the soreness that was a result of her own night of activities. "Well, don't know yet what my sleeping arrangement is for tonight either. I've told one of my brothers that I'd go to his for dinner." She cringed slightly.

"Eych. How do you think that's going to go?"

Bridgette had assumed that Ginny didn't get on with her family because of her 'chosen line of work' as a 'professional fluffer.' And Ginny wasn't about to tell her the truth. "I guess we'll see."

"So, I'll have to fend for myself for breakfast."

"There are bacon and bagels in the fridge for you." Ginny smiled to herself picturing her roommates pout.

"You're a doll. You'll at least send me a text tonight, let me know your brov didn't off you."

"Yes. And I'll definitely be home tomorrow night."

"Good, the girls are all looking forward to it."

"As am I. Get some sleep. I need to look for some coffee in this blasted place." Bridgette giggled and clicked off.

Ginny gave up on her search of the cupboards and pantry and went for her wand. "Accio coffee." There was a small 'thunk' that emanated from the freezer. Relieved, she went to the freezer and retrieved the coffee grounds when she heard the door open from Harry's bedroom.

"Everything alright?" He'd thrown on a pair of pajama bottoms and left his chest bare. His hair was even more disheveled than usual, it was a very nice sight. And had she already found a coffee making apparatus she would have probably taken more time to appreciate it.

"What do you have to turn this." She held up the coffee grounds. "Into something drinkable?" He gave her a sleepy grin and went to one of the cupboards under the counter in the island to pull out a French Press. "Okay. Now everything's alright." She smiled and took it from him to start measuring out the grounds.

"Did I hear you talking to someone?" He came to stand beside her, but didn't reach out.

"Mmhmm. Bridgette just called to check and make sure I was okay." She gave him a looking over, trying to gauge what he might be thinking about her being in his kitchen.

"Ah. Uh, how does she have your number? I thought you just got your phone yesterday?" He asked confused.

"I just got 'a' phone yesterday. I've had a mobile since the first day I arrived back. Unlike Ron, I knew what 'load' was." She waggled her eyebrows at him.

He just smiled softly and went about getting some breakfast ready. "How do you like your eggs?"

"Cooked." She said as the kettle whistled.

"Noted. Scrambled it is." He got out the frying and pulled the eggs and milk from the fridge, and popped some bread in the toaster.

Even after two nights together they moved around each other carefully. Still getting to know one another, and after their weird history it was easy for her to tell that neither of them really knew what this was between them.

"So, dinner tonight. Ron and Hermione's." Harry stated.

"A little mixed about that." She confirmed.

"I was surprised you agreed to it, to be honest. Aren't you worried about the other Weasley's finding out?"

She noted he was a little ridged asking that question. She set the kettle back down on the stove and pressed her front against his back slightly, kissed his bare shoulder and sighed. It was a familiar move, but her body instinctively put her there. It felt good to touch him. "I think part of me does want them to know." He tensed even more at that, and she let go of him, not quite sure if she'd gone out of bounds with his comfort level. Ginny continued, feeling slightly out of her own comfort level now. "I've been gone for so long, and they've thought wrong of me for so much longer." She grabbed a mug from the cupboard. "Do you actually drink coffee?" She asked.

"No." He admitted. "So, you want them to know? The whole truth?" There was a wrinkle between his brows.

"Christ, no!" Her eyes went wide at that idea. "I'm weary of anyone knowing my whole truth. But, I'm 24 now, and for the past 13 years I've been with out my family. It'd be nice to not have them blindly hate me anymore." She shrugged. Not letting on how truly nervous she was about even saying that out-loud. But Ron wanting to have her over for dinner had made her wonder if it was time for some sort of explanation to the rest of her family. A proper verbal one, that involved words coming out of her mouth and everything.

If things went well at dinner, then maybe, with Ron beside her, the rest of the family would finally listen. That kind of scared her. But she couldn't possibly tell them everything that had happened to her, even after so many years gone by, her mother would probably never forgive herself for standing by while that happened to her child.

"So, tonight is…" Harry started, and trailed off.

"Potentially going to be the first step to reconciliation?" She finished feeling a tight coil wrap in her belly at the intensity of it all.

He blew out a slow, serious breath. "What is the story you're planning on telling Hermione? Not that you're an Auror, surely." He was turned to face her, absentmindedly stirring the eggs with one arm.

"As close to the truth as possible with-out giving anything away about my career."

"She'll see right through that." He pointed out.

"Yes." She shrugged. "But she'll be smart enough not to pry." She grabbed two plates and pulled the toast form the toaster.

He made himself a cup of tea, then divided up the eggs on the plates. They ate breakfast in silence, both deep in thought about how that dinner might go. She collected the plates after they were both done and put them in the sink, resting back against the counter and wondering what it was exactly she should do now. He was sitting there, elbows on the counter, looking at her with an expression that was making her think about all they'd got up to before they fell asleep.

"You look good in that shirt." Harry commented. She smirked. The plain white shirt hung down to just past her bum. She'd caught him glancing at her chest a few times. The cold floor had made her nipples hard, and they were rather obvious through the cotton/polyester blend material. She licked her bottom lip quickly before biting it, then pulled back at the sides of the shirt so it clung to her front tighter.

"Think Is should wear it to work today? Or might someone notice and maybe think I'd spent the night with Auror Mitchel?" She teased.

He stood up and walked over to her, taking up the hem of the shirt and trailing his hand underneath along her naked side, and then pulled her close to him as she looked into his half hooded eyes. She felt her desire stirring, rather abruptly, in her nethers.

"No." He answered primally, before bringing his lips to her.

She hummed in satisfaction and melted against him. They might not have figured out what the hell they were to each other yet, but there was no question about this part of their relationship. He ran his hands down to her legs and lifted her up to seat her on the counter. Her legs parted to wrap around his middle, her hot center now pressed up to the skin just above where his bottoms sat.

His tongue invaded her mouth and they both moaned as she tightened her legs to bring him closer to her. His arms went around her. One into her hair and one pressing against the small of her back. She wanted him so badly to take her again.

"Apparate us to the bedroom." She demanded, pulling back from his mouth.

He opened his eyes and blinked a few times, clearing up the haze created by his arousal, before the crack resonated through the flat and he was now the only thing holding her up against him.

They fell back onto his bed and she used her feet to shift his bottoms down his legs. He didn't even bother taking them off all the way before plunging himself inside her. He held her hip down with one hand, using his other arm for leverage as he fucked her into the mattress.

She was still sensitive after being abstinent for so long, and he was well equipped and she could feel every move he made magnified ten fold. Her ecstasy ridden moans every time he was fully sheathed inside her were all she could manage to do to indicate she wanted it just as rough as he was giving it to her. He was hitting a spot deep inside her that was making her lose control. She wanted to rock against him, but the hold he had on her hip arrested her movements, and something about him exerting his power over her body was just spurring on her carnal desire, and giving her a higher high.

The pressure was building inside her at an alarming speed, then she felt as though a set of flood doors were opening and she was crying out her release after barely a minute. He groaned and growled as she tightened around him, never decreasing his speed.

"Ah. Fuck!" He groaned a moment later as he shot out his load inside her. He collapsed on top of her. "Holy fuck, you're so wet right now."

She giggled through her pleasure with her eyes still closed, enjoying the residual waves of pleasure from their frantic coupling. He took a few moments to catch his breath before he extracted himself.

"I need a shower." She sighed.

"Yeah." He replied.

Slowly she slid off the bed and tried to right her bow-leggedness before continuing on to the bathroom. She pulled the shirt over her head on the way there and tossed it back at the bed so it landed on him.

His bathroom was large. There was a toilet, bidet, a claw foot cast iron tub and a separate two person shower. Ginny shook her head at the luxury of it all. She checked the medicine cabinet and found a hair elastic. 'Probably left behind by one of his former conquests' she thought, and pulled her hair up.

If she went into the headquarters smelling of his shampoo someone might notice. She turned on the shower, waiting for the spray to warm up, then had to jump in as she felt something leak a bit down the inside of her leg. His and hers cum. He didn't have a retractable shower head, so she did her best to clean up her downstairs.

A moment after she'd cleaned up, Harry joined her. He grinned at her, taking up the soap and setting himself to rubbing it all over her. Then she took her turn on him.

Yeah. This part they definitely had down.

()()()()()()()()

Ginny felt trepidation about her training session for that day. She didn't when she arrived at the headquarters that morning, but she'd discussed what was going to be happening during the session with Head Auror Greyson and he handed her a file, as she had requested. It was a file on a case that had a missing link. Something that would require the Auror's to go over and over the information and try and figure it out.

The case was of two perpetrators that had been caught in the act of their crime. The evidence then had been irrefutable, and they'd admitted to their crimes under Veritaserum. But the mystery remained in how they came to be caught in the act. The person who caught them and brought them to justice was led to them by someone. That someone was the mystery.

As soon as she read the first name of the first perpetrator her breath hitched, and the trepidation set in. 'Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.'

Ginny had been hoping for something else. Any other case really. It wasn't like she had an ego on her or anything, but she had gotten pretty good at her detective work over the years and wanted to be able to solve a cold case with her many skills, her experience, and ability to look at things from all angles.

But this. Well, this would just be cheating, it seemed to her.

Her apprehension was furthered when she remembered one of the victims was going to be in that morning's session. She sat at the table in the conference room wondering if she should request a different case. Initially, it hadn't mattered to her whether the cold case was going to get solved. It was just going to be an exercise of their minds and sleuthing skills. But, if she could finally close this case, then that was a good thing. It was her job.

Standing up, she flipped the case file closed and went to the door.

"Finnegan." She yelled into the bull pen. "I need to see you in here." She ignored the resounding 'Oooh's' that came from his colleagues. He entered the conference room wearily. "Close the door." She ordered. He did. She cast a silencing and locking charm on the door. "Take a seat." She saw his hesitation before sitting at the first desk.

He shifted uncertainly in his seat. "Did I-"

"You didn't do anything wrong." Ginny cut him off. "You've been doing very well so far. And I like your attitude." She told him straight faced. He relaxed slightly, but his face still portrayed his worry over being called out. "The issue I am having right now is due to concern with a case that we will be going over today. And I want to give you the opportunity to recuse yourself from today's session."

"Is it one of my old cases? Something get bungled?" His face was riddled with concern.

"No, not one of your old cases. It is an old case involving you that never had all the dots connected." She could see a far off look in his eyes that she knew meant he was thinking back to what she might mean. Then saw the light come on in his head.

"You mean…"

"Yes. The one involving you and Hannah Abbot." She said delicately.

He let out a troubled breath and slumped back in his chair. "But they were put away."

"Yes. And they weren't even part of the break-out in '96. They've been rotting there ever since they were convicted." She assured him. "But there was the one link that kept the case from being closed properly. Please know that I did not ask for this case specifically, and I don't think Head Auror Scrimgeour read through it before handing it over, so he didn't know your involvement."

"You think we can close the case?"

She was careful how she was phrasing this next part. "Any unsolved case is a good exercise for today's session. Whether it gets solved or not."

He nodded. "Then I don't want to recuse myself. I was a witness. If you have a source, you should use them, right?"

She wanted to grin at his bravado. Instead, she nodded once. "Good."

He stood up. "And I'd like to be in this afternoons session too if you don't mind. If I can be of any help in closing the case finally, I want to do it."

"I'll let the Head Auror know." She said in dismissal.

()()()()()

The morning's session had not solved the mystery, and having Seamus there for the afternoon session did not start out well. He didn't understand the point of the exercise.

"What are you doing here mate? Get yourself a do over?" Ron asked Seamus as the afternoon session took their seats.

"I offered to assist." He said proudly.

Harry and Ron took their seats, giving him a confused look. "She needs assistance?" Harry asked.

Ginny was standing at the front, listening to them. She shut the door behind the last person. There were now twelve people in this session, plus Seamus. Someone didn't notice an unstable firework under their desk before they accidentally kicked it and got a serious burn on their leg causing them to go to St. Mungo's.

"Everyone take your seats. You will see a copy of a case that has not yet been closed due to a missing link. In today's session we are going to brainstorm and try to find that link. I will create the story board for the case up here at the front, and you will all come at it from different angles so we can attempt to close it." She explained. "Also in front of you is a logic based puzzle called Sudoku. It is a Japanese number placement puzzle that requires you to fill in the missing boxes with the numbers one through nine. No row or sectioned off three by three square can have a repeating number. We will get the story board up and unless you have something to contribute to try and solve the case, you will be working on the puzzle.

"The reason I am having you do the puzzle while we solve the case is because this puzzle requires you to take in the whole picture, and solve each box by looking at the possible answer taking into account how the answer would be affected by the other squares. As such it could help your process." They all looked a little confused, but interested. "Mr. Finnegan is here to assist us as a witness to this case."

"It's a fake case?" Tonks asked confused.

"No, it's a real case. And I was really there." He told them.

"As he was in this morning's session, and assisted in finding potential answers, he offered to help with your session as well." Ginny explained. "Open your case files and lets get started."

The story board came together quickly. Unfortunately Seamus kept opening his mouth to answer the questions, or tell them what should be written down. The third time he did, she magically gagged him.

"I'll remove it for your interview." She told him.

He was eager to have the case solved, but didn't understand that the whole point was to get the others to reach conclusions on their own, unhampered by assumptions made by the mornings group. She removed Seamus' gag for him to relay the event as he remembered it, then put the gag back in place.

She had a list going on the wall of descriptions of the person they were looking for as decided by the team. After about a half hour of back and forth, the group seemed to be out of ideas.

"Alright, so once more. We are looking for someone who worked alone. Most likely a student, because a Professor would have shown themselves, a House Elf would tell, and a ghost would be incapable of using the wand to cast the incriminating spell. We are looking for someone that was a sixth year or above because, while the charms used were easy enough, the ability to make themselves completely unseen is something above OWL level. They are patient and methodical, and they are not afraid to break the rules, as they were out after curfew." She listed off their assumptions.

"There's a chance they could have died during the war." Ron said.

"There is, so when we list out the people who meet the description we will take the deceased into account." She went over to the board again to write 'Suspects'. "Several of you were at Hogwarts at the time. Who can you name that is all encompassing of these categories?"

No one spoke.

"Okay. Lets start removing assumptions." She blanked out the first assumption. "What if it wasn't someone working alone?"

Seamus pointed to Harry and Ron.

"That's removing two assumptions Seamus. They hadn't taken their OWL's yet." Ginny told the mute man.

"It wasn't us." Ron said to him angrily.

"Fred and George Weasley." Tonks offered.

"Nice, and from someone who didn't go to Hogwarts then no less." Ginny wrote down the twins names. "Anyone else?"

Nothing.

"Okay, next assumption. Not a student, but and Elf or Professor."

"Could have been Snape." Harry offered.

"But he was in his chamber when the Patronus went to him." Beverly said.

"He was the last to arrive. Could have been because he switched the wands, then bailed and came back."

Ginny wrote down Severus Snape. "Okay. Fifth year or lower?" Ginny moved her line down the list. She heard a breath suck in behind her and knew it had come from Harry. She turned to look at him. Her expression was completely neutral. "Do you have someone in mind?"

She saw his Adams apple bob once. "Ginny Weasley."

She nodded and turned around to put her own name on the list us suspects.

"Whoa, you think it was Ginny?" Ron asked.

"I think considering the assumptions, and given what we know now, she fits." Harry told him.

"Anyone else?" Ginny asked.

Nothing. There were no answers for the next two options of suspects with the removal of assumptions.

"Right. So unfortunately, we cannot ask Severus Snape if it was him, so that leaves us with the three Weasley's. Very interesting." She faced the group again. "Who thinks it was the twins?" No one raised their hands. "And Snape?" Still nothing. "And who thinks it was me?" Everyone raised their hands.

She didn't say anything to them. She went to the door and opened it wide. "Can I get everyone from the mornings group in here that's available." She shouted. Greyson Scrimgeour was at one of the desks. "You too." She called him in.

Once the last person came in she shut the door again and waved her wand to pull up the morning sessions board with their assumptions and suspects.

"This morning's session assumed either the Head Boy, or McGonagall. This afternoon's session was seeing red though, and guessed Snape and a few Weasley's. Me in particular." The whole room was completely silent.

Ginny swallowed down all of her nerves and turned to Seamus removing the spell. He still remained silent. "As I told Seamus this morning, I didn't know before I got this case file that it was the one we were going to be going over. I didn't even know if we would actually solve a case. Today's training was supposed to be about brainstorming and pattern recognition. But I wasn't going to pick a different case just because one of the victims was present, and I certainly wasn't going to leave a case open that I could close." She spoke to Seamus in particular now. "I am so sorry that I couldn't stop that from happening to you and Hannah." She said calmly and sincerely. "I've thought back over it several times in the years since, and I still believe that they had to be caught in the act at that point. If they'd have been stopped earlier, then the Veritaserum would not have been called for, and we wouldn't have known just how many victims there had been. I am sorry you had to watch what happened to her, but I did what I could to get the Professor there in time to hear the Unforgivable being used."

"It was you?" He asked dumbfounded. Ginny clenched her jaw and nodded.

"You put your first dark wizards away in Azkaban when you were fourteen?!" Ron burst out.

"Not an appropriate time Ronald." She growled. She faced the rest of the room again. "Thank-you to both groups for today's session, and congratulations on closing this case. Now, get out."

Seamus and Scrimgeour stayed where they were, everyone else got up and headed for the door. She sealed it behind the last of them.

"Are you okay?" Ginny asked Seamus.

"Yeah. I mean. I guess. It was really rough for me after that happened. Hannah couldn't ever look at me again. When I learned what they'd been doing, it, well. It's the reason I wanted to become an Auror, even before the war really broke out." He stared down at his hands a minute, then looked her dead in the eyes. "Guess I thought I'd feel different once I had the answer, but… Thank you."

"You won't be able to fill out the report, because it would be a conflict of interest, but you can be here while Head Auror Scrimgeour does it." Ginny offered.

"Yeah, I want to."

"Okay then." She turned to Greyson. "Let's close this case properly."

()()()()()()()()()

"What's the story for Hermione?" Ginny asked Ron at 4:50 p.m. The case had been completely closed now and, against Ginny's wishes, Seamus had hugged her after.

Ron stared at her a moment. He looked to be a little in awe of her. He shook his head out of it. "Bumped into you, convinced you to come over to dinner because Hermione'd been nagging me to get in touch with you."

Ginny raised her eyebrow. "She's been nagging you about that?"

Hermione and she hadn't spoken much, even when they shared a room occasionally when she'd stayed at the Burrow. She'd been the only person that had made effort a few times to talk to Ginny in school but Ginny hadn't been in the right state of mind to accept it though, and she'd always felt bad about her poor reactions to her. Ginny had been truly happy that she and Ron had come together. She'd always liked Hermione.

"Yeah. A few times." Ron blushed a bit.

"And you'd dutifully ignored her." Ginny stated. He just blushed harder. Ginny looked over to Harry. "You ready to play along?"

"Not my first undercover mission." He shrugged with a hint of a smile.

Ginny pulled her eyes away from him to focus them on Ron. "Super, shall we go?"

()()

Ron Apparated her to their flat. Harry appeared a moment later.

"Mione won't be home yet. She, erm, she might be a bit. Or she might be a minute. It varies." Ron explained.

Ginny nodded. "Want to give me a tour then?"

Their place was about half the size of Harry's flat, and completely stacked with books. It was a one bedroom flat with a study, a living room/ dining room combo and a galley kitchen. There were little touches reminiscent of the Burrow everywhere. Items knitted, clearly by her mother, and obscure items on display, clutter on every other shelf. Ginny was surprised that someone as seemingly uptight as Hermione, was okay living like this.

She figured Hermione probably just wasn't very domesticated. Neither was Ron. Hermione also didn't know they were having a guest, and Ron wouldn't have thought to clean up the little piles of accumulation.

She smirked to herself. "Need help in the kitchen?" She asked Ron.

"Er. Right. Food." He led the way into the kitchen and she and Harry stood at either side of the entrance. Ron looked in the fridge and pulled out some cold cuts. "We normally just do sandwiches."

"You mean you normally just do sandwiches." Harry corrected with a smirk.

"Ah. Yeah. I'm not so good with the company cooking." Ron bashfully admitted. It was easy to see he was unsure of this situation. Long lost sister who may as well be a stranger, but unable to treat her as such.

"May I?" Ginny asked, indicating she wanted to see what they had to work with.

Ron put the cold cuts back and stepped back to the entryway. The first pantry door she opened there was rice and a butter chicken sauce jar. "Do you have chicken and onion?" She asked.

"Yeah."

"Great. Butter Chicken it is." She handed him the Jar. "Don't forget to make the rice, and follow the instructions on the label."

"Uh. Right, I can do that." Ron switched places with her again.

"So, what has Hermione been up to in the past eight years?" She asked the pair of them.

Ginny and Harry stood back and directed Ron about dinner as he relayed Hermione's career in the Ministry over the years. She started at the Ministry Support Staff, then to the Department of Mysteries, now she'd settled into the Department of the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, where she'd been happily for the past three years.

"Did she ever get SPEW off the ground then?" Ginny asked. "I've never heard anything about it, but remember her handing out fliers in school."

Harry and Ron chuckled at the memory of those days. "No. But she did help institute a sector responsible for helping them report grievances against their owners. No House Elf has used it to my knowledge." Ron said. "And Ministry Elves were all given nicer living quarters and wages. Or the option at least. Some of 'em were still deeply offended at the idea."

There was a wooshing noise and a flash of green behind them. Tell tale signs of Floo travel.

"Sorry I'm late! Oh Harry, you brought someone, that's nice. Just give me a minute to get-" Hermione was standing in front of the fireplace patting the soot off of her. She'd only given a cursory glance toward the kitchen area. Then she did a double take. "Ginny!?"

She looked exactly the same as the last time Ginny had seen her. Maybe a little less frantic look about her, and her hair had calmed down a bit. But Hermione had always been, and looked, an old soul. Pretty, but an old soul.

"Uh. Look who I found." Ron smiled awkwardly.

"Smooth." Harry whispered.

Hermione ignored the two men and went to Ginny to pull her into a hug. Ginny had somewhat expected this reaction from her sister-in-law. She had never been prejudiced against her like everyone else, they had just simply never been friends.

"It is so good to see you!" Hermione pulled back. "You look great! What have you been doing? Where have you been? Do your parents know you're here? Where did you and Ron run into each other? We got your wedding gift! Put it up on the wall over here. I think it's beautiful. We would have loved for you to be at the wedding, but of course we didn't know how to contact you. The maple leaf is Canadian, right? Have you been in Canada this whole time? Was it lovely there?"

"Hermione!" Harry said in exasperation. "Calm down."

She was gripping Ginny's shoulders and rambling all of her questions and comments into one run-on sentence.

"She's here for dinner." Ron said. "You don't need to ask her everything all at once!"

"Dinner! Oh." She sniffed the air. "That smells lovely. Thank you Ron." She looked over at the dinner table, it was covered with parchment and books along with various odds and ends. "Oh bugger. This place is a mess." She waved her wand to make everything tidy itself.

"Harry, can you set the table?" Hermione looked back to Ginny. "I'm sorry. I'll be right back. I have to change. I've been dealing with Water Nymphs all day, and feel all warm and sticky. But I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere!" She ordered, as though concerned Ginny would turn to dust if she took her eye off of her for even a second.

Ginny's eyes were a little wide with a cautious smile on her face as she nodded once in promise. Hermione let go of her abruptly and bolted to the bedroom. "Well, she's excited to see me." She commented to the guys.

They both snickered. Harry set the plates down at the table. Hermione was back in a flash, dressed much more casually with her hair pulled up.

"Okay, so tell me everything. Start with where you've been." She took Ginny by her arm and led her to the table so they could sit down.

"Lots of places." Ginny began off somewhat awkwardly. "Started off in New Zealand after I graduated."

"Oh! Gorgeous. I've never been, but I've seen pictures. We went to Australia once, but it's really not the same thing, is it?"

"Uh, no. Australia was way different."

"Oh! Were you there too?" Hermione's face was lit up with excitement. Ginny was holding back her laughter at how boisterous she was.

"Yeah. Lived there for a bit too."

"Anywhere else?"

"Um. Yeah. South Africa, Canada. Last one was Puerto Rico for a few months." She said evenly.

"That's fantastic. Must have been nice." Hermione beamed. "Did you two already know?" She turned to Ron and Harry. "You're acting like this isn't a surprise. Or even interesting."

"Yeah. Well, we've already heard most of it." Ron admitted.

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him slightly. "When did you run into each other?"

"Recently." Ginny answered with a smirk.

Hermione looked at her puzzling. "And, what have you been doing for the past seven years? In all these different countries?"

Ginny tilted her head slightly, as tight and amused smile on her face. "This and that." She knew Hermione would connect the dots.

Sure enough, she kept looking between her husband, her best friend, and her sister-in-law. "Are you and Auror?"

"She's quick." Ginny commented to the boys.

"It's the only reason I could think of that explains why Ron seems so calm. Is this why the two of you got so drunk on Monday night?" She asked. "Have you known for four days with-out telling me?" She asked loudly.

"To be fair. He wasn't allowed to." Ginny told her. "I cast a compulsion spell on all the Auror's so they couldn't tell anyone."

"So, are you not back permanently?"

"No. Here on loan for a bit."

"What ever for?"

"That's classified." Ginny told her, accepting a glass of water from Harry. Out of habit she checked the glass for contaminants.

"You think I'd spike your glass with something?" He asked surprised and slightly offended when he noticed the faint glow emanating from the water, indicating it was safe to drink.

"Oh. Um. It's just habit." Ginny explained, somewhat apologetically.

"Well, you can check the dinner too." Ron said, not bothered, as he put a pan down in the middle of the table with the chicken dish followed by the pot of rice.

"And have you been an Auror since you left?" Hermione asked her.

"I was recruited not long after I got to New Zealand."

"And do you like it?"

Ginny was a little take aback by the question. It was what she knew, it felt right and she was good at it. "I supposed it feels good to be putting away dangerous criminals, yeah."

Hermione rested her chin on her palm, elbow on the table, observing her with fascination. "I've always wondered what happened to you. I even tried looking for you through the ministry resources."

Ginny smiled briefly at that. "You weren't checking the right resources. These two could have found me through the Auror's office." She pointed to Ron and Harry with her fork.

"We would have been able to check in headquarters?" Ron asked. "Like, cases you've done and whatnot?"

"Probably some of them. A lot of it might be redacted though. And a lot of it might be under my code name only."

"What's your code name?" Hermione asked brightly. The three Auror's stopped what they were doing with arms frozen in mid-movement to look at her expressionless. Her eyes darted between the three of them again. "Right. Stupid question." She bushed. "But. What about…" She paused. "Everyone else?"

Ginny saw Ron and Harry shift uncomfortable and then find their dinner fascinating. "We'll see." Ginny said. It was the only thing she could offer. "There's a lot of history there, and I don't think they want to see me."

"That's not true!" Hermione assured her. "I know that your parents would want to know that you're okay! They haven't taken you off the clock."

"What does it point to?" Ginny asked, cutting Hermione off. She was truly curious.

"I've seen it pointing to 'Traveling' every time I'm over." Ron said. "I, erm, saw it point to 'Mortal Peril' once, but it switched back to traveling really quickly, so I thought I might have just been seeing things."

"When was that?" Ginny asked him, trying to think of the last time she'd been properly in danger.

"Uh. Two years ago? Victoire's birthday, so it was April."

Ginny closed her eyes a moment, trying to suppress a shudder. "Oh." Was her only comment, the she started eating, hoping they'd move on.

"We're all going to the Burrow on Sunday." Hermione mentioned.

Ginny snorted and fought to swallow the rice in her mouth. "You aren't seriously suggesting I go, are you?" She looked incredulously at Hermione.

"Well… everyone will be there. You could just, I don't know, rip off the band-aid."

"I'd rather just take the cowards way out with this and send them a letter. Something like 'Hey. Still alive, not such a crazy evil bitch anymore. I've got references if you want to check.'" She was now looking at Hermione like she was crazy. "Probably less chance of giving my parents a heart attack."

"But you weren't actually crazy, or evil." Ron said. "It was all just, a mis-understanding." Ron pointed out.

"Doesn't matter. They thought I was." She pointed out right back.

"What did happen?" Hermione asked delicately. "Ron said you were so happy and eager to go to Hogwarts, but as soon as you got there you were a completely different person."

Ginny took a breath, then the accuracy of her description made her laugh. "Ahem. Sorry." She coughed and caught Harry's eye. "That's because I was." She admitted. "I was possessed for almost all of my first year."

Ron spit out his water across the table. "You were? Why didn't you tell anyone?"

Ginny pushed her feelings down, just as she had needed to so many times before. It was her defensive response to dealing with any painful emotions. "I had tried." She said emotionlessly. "Tom had done a good job of destroying my relationships with everyone that knew me, and horribly tainting all new relationships with other students and professors. No one liked me, or wanted to listen to me. After a while I just gave up trying and did my best to be invisible."

"Tom? Tom Riddle?" Hermione asked quietly. She looked over at Harry. He was looking at Ginny with sadness and compassion. "You knew!" Hermione yelled in surprise, pointing a finger in his face.

Ginny just gave him a look that said 'you have no poker face'. "I told him two days ago." She admitted. "Thought he was owed the story first."

She put her hand back on the table, still narrowing her eyes at Harry for keeping something so important to himself. "Hmm. That's fair." Hermione said. Ron was looking surprised that Harry had that information for two days with out telling him either.

Ginny sighed knowing she had to get through the story, or Hermione would keep asking questions. She gave them all the cliffs notes version of her possession and coming out of it, including finding Hermione's note and sending it and the Diary to Dumbledore anonymously.

They all listen with rapt attention, and as soon as she started telling the story it just flowed out of her with complete ease. They moved from the table to the sitting area with an aperitif. Ron started pouring them as soon as they'd finished with dinner.

Ron downed his first one and poured himself another. "Ginny. Something's been bothering me."

She looked at him inquisitively. "Yeah?"

"Um. About today, and what we'd talked about."

"Yeah?" She urged him to continue through gritted teeth. Knowing what he was leading to.

"I remembered something from, well, from my fourth year and I've been feeling pretty gutted about it." Ginny sipped her drink and waited. "Remember when Dean and I came across you and... and I had assumed..."

She twirled the glass around in her hand, watching the liquid swirl around too. "I remember. You had pretty good timing."

"Ginny. That wasn't. I shouldn't have assumed." He muttered. "I'm sorry."

"You still managed to stop him." She placated quietly.

"He still managed to stop who? And from doing what?" Hermione asked angrily.

"One of the people talked about today did something when we were in fourth year? To you?" Harry asked Ginny startled, then turned to nearly shout at Ron. "What did you do? What did Dean do?"

Ron's ears turned red in embarrassment. Ginny didn't say anything. He had been the one in the wrong, and she wanted him to deal with the repercussions of his poor judgement. "Ahem, someone was making unwanted advances on Ginny, Dean and I caught them."

"What made you find me in that situation?" Ginny asked, rather viciously.

His face went a little more red. "We, erm, heard a scream."

Hermione went over to Ron and hit him upside the back of his head. "You heard her scream and still thought the worst of her? What did you do Ron?" She yelled.

"He told us that there were broom closets, so he wouldn't have to see that." Ginny answered.

"I'm sorry!" Ron pleaded. "I feel really awful about it."

"Good." Ginny said simply.

"And then you came back to Gryffindor and told everyone, didn't you." Harry asked angrily. "I remember now. That was when you started talking about her and Adrian Pucey!" He looked about ready to throw up at the name. Understandable considering how much they'd talked about him today.

"The one that got thrown into Azkaban for what he was doing with those poor girls!" Hermione nearly shrieked. She turned to Ginny in horror. "He didn't-"

"No." Ginny said quickly. "Had Ron and Dean come along when they did, I might not be able to say that." She conceded.

They all sat quietly staring into their drinks for a while. Hermione would glare over at Ron every few moments. Harry tossed him an angry look every now and then too. Once they'd finished their drinks there was too much tension in the air and Ginny wanted to pull the escape cord.

"Well, this has been... thank you for the dinner." She said to start excusing herself.

Hermione stood up abruptly and pulled her into another hug. "I'm so relieved to see you Ginny. So happy you're back, and that you came to see us." She walked her to the door. Harry was right behind them. "I want to meet up with you again before you leave. There's so much more I want to know. Can we do lunch one day?"

"Sure Hermione." Ginny nodded.

"I'll be heading out too." Harry told them both. "I'll leave you to deal with him." He jerked his thumb back towards where Ron was still sitting in his armchair.

Hermione gave another glare in his direction. "He'll be getting pretty familiar with that chair tonight." She snarled, and turned back to Ginny with a sad smile. "So glad you came back and told us what happened. That must have been so awful for you. Thank you for finally trusting me." She gave her another hug and bit farewell to Harry.

Ginny let out a relieved breath once the door closed behind them and leaned against the wall. "That was."

Harry subtly nudged her down the hall to the Apparation point, in case Hermione was looking through the peep hole. "My place?" He whispered.

She nodded and turned.

Once they were both in his foyer area she grabbed her phone and sent a quick message to Bridgette, letting her know she was at Harry's place again for the night. Then she went and joined Harry on the couch. He handed her a firewhiskey, she took it with out protest.

"I can't believe Ron." Was all Harry had to say.

"He didn't know any better." Ginny said in his defense, but no defensiveness behind her voice. "He did actually come to my rescue then."

"He was your brother." Harry said, as though that should have been enough.

"Harry." Ginny pleaded. "I don't want to talk about this anymore. It happened. Nothing happened." She said, meaning nothing happened with her and Pucey. "And that situation never came up again. I just had to deal with the rumors, but I was doing that before then anyways."

"Just let me be angry on your behalf please?" He said angrily, but then they both smiled at each other shyly.

"Can you be angry at the gym tomorrow or something?" She asked. "I don't want to talk about this any more tonight." She moved in a little closer to him. "Hey Harry?"

"Yeah?" He put his arm around her.

"Was Sirius Black an Animagus?"

**I almost had to re-do this entire chapter because of an encryption thingy with my thumb drive. Not only had this chapter taken up hours of my time and sweat, it also took my money to get some site to get it un-encrypted, not a lot of money, but money none the less. Sufficed to say, I'd appreciate it if you all give me some nice reviews or follow or favorite the story. I like seeing those numbers go up.**


	8. Year Four

**Warning. This chapter involves despicable acts by horrible people. Do not read if you have a sensitive psyche.**

**Includes Rape and Buggering with out thorough descriptions.**

**Hogwarts 1994-1995**

Summer at home. Yet another two months when she would keep her mouth shut and try to stay out of everybody's way.

She had given up now on trying to find a way to tell them that she'd been possessed in her first year. So much time had passed, and now that Ron had spread around that she was shagging her way through the school she was getting even more stink eye from her parents. Initially they hadn't mentioned anything to her, but then came the day only after a few days home that her mother found something in her laundry.

What other excuse could there possibly be for Ginny having nice underclothes than that she was prostituting herself out? The colour her mothers face turned while she was yelling at her had her a little concerned that she may just pass out from not breathing between her screams. Her father didn't look to much better as he turned purple in anger standing next to his wife. Her brothers had all crowded around her door to watch the show, glaring at her.

Ginny just sat there silently not portraying any emotion on her face. She was sitting back against her pillows blocking out the accusatory words coming out of her mothers mouth as she brandished the offending knickers in Ginny's face. Screaming now that she wasn't the daughter they raised.

She was right about that. The daughter they had raised had a loving family, one that would listen to her when she spoke, that would never listen to salacious rumors, or be the one to start them. This daughter was dying inside and every sideways glance and glare was killing her soul more and more.

A reprieve from her family came when she was left behind at the Burrow while the rest of the family went off to start preparing for the war or some such business. She wasn't privy to what exactly they were doing that required them to be away from home for days or weeks at a time. The family seemed to be taking it in turns coming back to the Burrow to check and see that Ginny was taking care of the upkeep. There were still animals to be fed, and chores that needed doing.

It was kind of nice to have the place to herself. No one digging a knife into her heart with cruel words or looks over meal time, no one yelling at her up the stairs while she hid in her room. No hiding in her room. She could swim or fly or go into Ottery St. Catchpole with-out having to give reasons for being there.

When she was by herself she could forget all the awfulness for a while, and just enjoy being surrounded by peace.

Then it was time to go back to Hogwarts.

()()()()()

The disillusionment charm was probably the most valuable spell she'd ever learned. And by learned she of course meant 'taught herself'. She spent over a year perfecting it. She'd taught herself all manner of charms and hexes in between, but staying invisible to her school mates, and sometimes Professors, or Filch had been immensely helpful. It allowed her not only to avoid being heckled by bullies, but with her now developing body and tight uniform, it allowed her to avoid unwanted male attention.

She still had to endure comments at meal times and in classes, but it was relatively impossible to search her out in between those times. The same could not be said for all of the other girls getting harassed. And Ginny noticed the harassed. And the perpetrators. And she remembered the day she noticed the perpetrators stop as well.

Marcus Belby, a Ravenclaw and Adrian Pucey from Slytherin were Prefects in their seventh year. They had been the worst for making leud comments in the halls, just out of ear of the Professors. They were rarely seen together, but she knew they did rounds together. They had always been 'accidentally' grabbing at girls, or brushing up against them and falsely apologizing. Then one day it all stopped, but they seemed entirely too smug, and she knew they hadn't gotten girlfriends or anything.

It nagged at her.

Nothing else seemed out of sorts, and she found that suspicious. She'd been paying special attention to Adrian in particular since that corridor incident to find some way to pay him back for it. So, she started following them silently, and disillusioned when they had rounds. She threw on every kind of spell she could think of to make herself unnoticeable, including her scent.

It may have been three years since she was threatened with expulsion at the end of her first year should she step one toe out of line, but she had been immensely careful to not cause trouble, or even lose house points. She had broken rules since, but she'd never gotten caught.

Ginny followed them one night on their rounds carefully as they checked every broom closet and empty classroom and they seemed to grow increasingly irritable as the evening drew on, and they hadn't caught any rule breakers. Perhaps they just got a thrill out of docking house points and reporting the culprits?

Belby snarled disappointed. "Damn it. I'm fucking worked up, and we don't have rounds for another week."

"Well, I'm certainly not going back to my dorm to deal with this myself." Pucey said sinisterly. In the dark light of the corridor Ginny saw the concerned and hesitant expression on Belby's face while he regarded Pucey. Pucey then pulled something from his pocket and shake some into his hand before returning it. "I'll make it easier for you." He then ran his finger down his own neck. Belby stepped forwards and inhaled deeply. Pucey let out a single dark chuckle and pulled Belby into the nearest room.

Ginny did not follow them in. Instead she waited outside the door and got close enough to hear a few sounds from within. It sounded like creaking wood and grunting. Her eyes grew wide. They were buggering each other!

She held a horrified hand over her mouth and backed away from the door. Them doing that to each other wasn't the problem she had. Her problem was that they had _resigned_ to buggering each other because they hadn't found anyone out past curfew. Meaning, if they had…

But no one had reported any rape, or any misdoings by the two prefects at all. And it had been going on for a few weeks now if their change in character was anything to go by.

She walked back to her dorm in a trance. In the Slytherin Common Room she got into the girls' bathroom stall and removed her charm, then re-entered the common room finding a secluded corner to hide in and sat there, pretending to read until she saw Adrian Pucey come back in and head straight for his dorm, walking a little differently than he had been earlier.

There was no two ways about it. He and Marcus Belby had been committing heinous acts using their role as prefects. She just didn't understand _how_. And what was it that Pucey put on himself to make it 'easier' for Belby? Pheromones of some kind?

She was shaken about it the entire week until the next time they had rounds. She waited until just before Pucey would have to get ready to go and snuck into the corridor and applied all of her spell to slink behind him as a safe distance and unfortunately she found out what it was they were up to.

Belby and Pucey did come across a couple this night. They three of them heard a small noise eminating form a broom closet only twenty minutes into the rounds and the two prefects were smiling far too widely. Ginny moved around to stand back on the other side of the corridor from where the couple would be discovered.

The prefects pulled the door open abruptly and there were two yelps from inside. The prefects laughed at the reaction from the couple.

A Hufflepuff fourth year Ginny didn't know the name of squeaked an apology and attempted to re-do her buttons on her blouse while her boyfriend, a Ravenclaw that Belby seemed familiar with smirked at Belby, clearly thinking he would just get a verbal reprimand.

Instead Pucey shot him with the 'Petrificus Totalus' spell and pulled the potion from his pocket. He put some of the potion on his wrists, and some on his neck. Then handed it to Belby, who did the same.

"Don't worry darling." Belby told the confused girl. "We won't harm your boyfriend, or even give you a detention." He smiled.

Pucey stepped around the Ravenclaw boy and pulled at her blouse. Slowly undoing her buttons again. "How are you feeling tonight?" Pucey stroked a finger down her cheek. The girl got a dazed look on her face and moaned slightly.

"Wh-what are you doing?" She asked.

"Just picking up where he left off." Pucey eyed her body hungrily.

"Wh-what?"

Pucey shoved his hand under her skirt and she squeaked indignantly. "Nice. He got her wet." Pucey told Belby.

"Nice." Belby grinned evilly and put his hand on his crotch to adjust himself.

Ginny was horrified. She'd assumed it was something along these lines, and thought through the scenarios she would come across with these two. The girl was as frozen as Ginny found herself to be, as she had been the previous year when Pucey had come after her. She had been fortunate enough to have two people stop him from getting too far.

But there was nothing Ginny could do for the poor girl right now. This wasn't the first victim and she needed to know how they were getting away with it. She watched as Pucey pulled down the girls knickers and pushed her harder against the wall. She watched as Belby stood guard, stroking himself at the display before him. And she was horrified with it all, including herself for not being able to stop it and still get justice for their victims.

The girl wasn't putting up much of a fight, which confused Ginny. But this Hufflepuff girl seemed torn about whether she wanted it or not.

Pucey let out a thoroughly satisfied groan. "Oh yeah, she was a virgin."

Belby swore. "Why do you always wind up with the virgins? Every time I go first they aren't."

Pucey didn't do anything to respond but chuckle and groan as he continued to take this girls innocence.

It didn't take long for Pucey to finish. When he let the girl go and stepped back Ginny could see the tears glinting down the girls face, and a bit of blood trickle down between her bowed legs. Pucey cast a cleaning spell at himself, and her. He was pulling up his trousers as Belby went forward undoing his own.

Belby was not as quiet as Pucey had been. In between grunts she could hear the loud whispers of him asking if she liked it. Comments on how tight she was, and how good she felt.

Ginny hadn't realized she had tears rolling down her own cheeks as well. The girl had only whimpered in response to his comments. Then Belby finished too with a loud groan. He cast the same cleaning spell as Pucey had, then pulled up his trousers and stepped back.

"Thanks for that darling." Pucey said, they both snickered and stepped back in front of the frozen boy. Pucey picked him up under the arm, Belby took his other. They lifted him so he was right in front of his girlfriend, and they lowered his trousers and pants.

The girl still seemed frozen in terror to the spot.

"Ready?" Pucey asked Belby.

Belby took a deep breath. "Ready. Finite Incantum."

"Imperio." Pucey cast the Imperius Curse as soon as the boy was unfrozen. The boy was now seemingly oblivious to his surroundings and started snogging his girlfriend again, then against her half-attempted protests, started fucking her as well.

"Obliviate." Belby cast the memory charm. Ginny could see the level of concentration on his face.

The girls face went blank for a moment, then looked quite like she was enjoying herself, oblivious to her spectators.

The Prefects closed the door to the broom closet, waited a full minute, then knocked. "It's after curfew!" Pucey said angrily through the door.

Ginny heard a surprised squeak from inside the cupboard, and some hurried movements. Pucey and Belby laughed silently waiting for the door to open.

"Sorry." The Ravenclaw boy said when he opened it, fully dressed.

"You should know better, Corner." Belby chastised him. "I'll have to take house points from the both of you."

"Twenty each." Pucey said. "Now get back to your common rooms."

The two blushed and nodded before scurrying off. Pucey and Belby smiled at each other. "Guess that's a night then." Pucey laughed.

"Until next week." Belby gave him a mock salute.

As Pucey passed close to Ginny she caught the most amazing and intoxicating whiff of his scent. Like coffee and chocolate. It almost made her want to groan.

Amortentia, she realized after it passed. That was how they were manipulating the girls into submission.

She walked back to her common room in a daze. They were horrible, awful, despicable, nasty vermin. Abusing their power to steal the innocence of unsuspecting girls, maybe even boys, and their victims didn't even know it. That girl was in fourth year, she might not even know what Amortentia was, or know some of the subtle signs of having a memory charm on you. Nor the boy. And she'd just stood there watching it happen. Maybe she did belong in Slytherin.

There was only one more week until their next rounds, and she had to find a way to plan out how to put an end to it for good, and with the most impact. She found she had to write it down, write it down and go over everything that could potentially go wrong. Somehow poisoning the Amortentia wouldn't work. If they found themselves poisoned they would just wind up in the hospital wing and be more careful about their potion, and suspicious.

Duplicating their wands would be good, so long as she had spare wands around that she could exchange them with and make them look exactly the same. She could just knick some from a few first years and swap the wands out before they went on rounds, she'd have to switch them back after. She would also need to cast the same spells they did, for a Priori Incantem to be correct.

The other wands wouldn't work properly for them, so the spells they use on the victims wouldn't work properly.

The memory charm is the last spell they use, so she'd need to get someone with authority there before they attempt that one. Imperius was one thing. It either worked, or it didn't. But a bad memory charm could do serious damage.

She made sure that Marcus Belby was added to her map, Pucey she'd put on there last year. The professors too needed to be added.

The night of their rounds she'd transfigured two wands she'd knicked from first years to look just like Pucey's and Belby's. Whether they were perfect replica's or would feel right she didn't know. She could only hope.

During dinner she made the swap and had to pray that they wouldn't cotton on, or try any difficult, or easy to them, spells. She kept tabes on where each one of the Professors were in the castle during their rounds, and stayed a few corridors away from where the two decrepit boys were patrolling.

Then she saw them on the map. The two prefects were hovering just outside a classroom a moment before they burst inside it. The two students that were in there didn't show up on her map, which meant that they were either quite young, or they had never done anything untoward to her. Ginny felt as though a hand was tightening over her heart and throat as the Prefects walked further into the room. Pucey stayed in the middle of the room, while Belby moved forward to the far side by the window. It was his turn to go first.

Professor McGonagall was the closest Professor. Ginny ran to her quarters and banged on her door. She stepped back and remained absolutely still across the hall as she levitated a note in front of the door.

The door opened and cast light into the corridor. Professor McGonagall stood in her dressing gown and looked up and down the corridor before she read the note. She poked her head out to look down the corridor again with wide eyes and a slack mouth.

A ball of light was shimmering, floating in lazy circles that started circling more rapidly. To Ginny's relief the Professor did not take it as some prank, and promptly followed after it. Whether she heard Ginny following behind her at a safe distance while she controlled the ball of light leading them to the classroom, she didn't know. If the older matron did hear her, she hoped the Professor would understand her desire not to be called out.

They made it to the classroom just in time to hear Pucey cast the Imperius Curse. Professor McGonagall burst through the classroom door and discovered the Prefects. "Expelliamus" She screamed, and the boys were knocked away, their wands cast away from them.

Ginny caught where the wands had landed and quickly swapped them out for the boys actual wands. She saw that it had been Hannah Abbot and Seamus Finnegan that were the most recent victims before she tucked herself back outside the classroom to hear what was going to happen to the boys.

The wispy Patronus of a tabby cat ran out into the hall and out of sight. Ginny recognized the cat as the Professors. It was an exact match to her Animagus form. She could hear Hannah Abbot crying. The girl had just been raped.

Ginny felt awful for not being able to stop it from happening. She didn't know another way to make sure the boys would get properly punished for all that they had done. That was the mantra she kept repeating to herself, hoping eventually it would make her feel even the slightest bit justified in her course of action.

Allowing herself a peek into the classroom she saw that the two Prefect's were frozen in a seated position on one side of the room now. Seamus and Hannah were on the other. She was bawling heavily on the Professors shoulder. Seamus was seated in the corner, elbows on the desk and his face in his hands. Ginny's heart broke a bit more at the sight.

She stepped back again, anticipating that the reinforcements would be there shortly. She was tucked well out of sight in behind a suit of armor when Professors Dumbledore, Snape, Flitwick, and Sprout came along one by one into the classroom. The headmaster and all the heads of house.

Ginny couldn't hear what was going on in the room, but Professor Sprout and Hannah Abbot were the first to exit. Hannah was still crying, hugged tight to Professor Sprouts side. They headed in the direction of the Hospital Wing.

Professor Snape was the next to make a swift exit. It seemed an eternity before he returned, but when he did he had a member of the Ministry with him. Ginny could only tell it was a Ministry Member because she recognized Gawain Robards. He was next in line for head Auror, right now he headed up the Investigations Department. She let out an inaudible sigh of relief.

Professor McGonagall was the next to leave the room after about ten minutes, she had a very red faced and shaking Seamus Finnegan with her. They too headed in the direction of the Hospital Wing.

"That wasn't my last spell!" Belby's voice carried out down the hall.

Ginny had considered that. She desperately wanted to get someone there in time to stop Belby from casting that spell. But wanted it to be the last one used with his wand anyways. It may lead to some unanswered questions, but it would make them understand how those two did their nefarious deeds.

She'd seen enough. Ginny came out of her hiding place and snuck down to her common room and into her bed. None of her dorm mates were there.

Feeling like some justice at least had been served, she fell into a fitful sleep.

The next day at breakfast in the Great Hall Dumbledore announced that Marcus Belby and Adrian Pucey had been expelled, and were on their way to Azkaban for committing highly morally irreprehensible acts, and admitting to all under Veritaserum.

Ginny put on a slightly surprised, slightly confused face and cast a wide gaze, noting that neither Hannah Abbot, nor Seamus Finnegan seemed to be present.

Over the next few days rumors circulated about what the two prefects had done, as well there were more sighting of parents in the halls than she'd ever noticed before. Lastly, a few more couples were breaking up then there had been, including Michael Corner and his girlfriend, who's name was Evelyn MacMillan.

Ginny ascertained that the Professors and Robards had gotten a list of the victims and had informed them of what happened. She sincerely hoped they hadn't reversed the memory charms though. There was no way to tell from Ginny's perspective, and the gossip mill was not reaching her ears if it was out there.

**AN- If only I could have had the boys burn in hell instead of rot in a cell. I hope I portrayed Ginny's disgust with them, and herself enough.**


	9. Friday

AN: We left off at Harry's flat after dinner with Ron and Hermione. Ginny had asked Harry if Sirius Black was an Animagus. Someone mentioned it being a cliffhanger. Sorry. It wasn't meant to be.

**London, 2004**

Harry stretched and rolled over to his side, burying his face into his pillow to try and salvage a few more moments of sleep, something was pressing against his side a bit. He cracked his eye open and smiled. Ginny was lying on her back beside him. There was only the top sheet covering her naked body, and the sheet stopped tantalizingly draped at the crest of her breast. If he squinted he could make out the beginning of her areola.

Her body was amazingly tanned for a ginger. She must have spent ages in the sun before she came back to the UK. The freckles on her weren't as pronounced as they were on her siblings though, he found that interesting. Everything about her was interesting.

He'd been going on instinct and letting his body's wants dictate their amorous activities since their first coupling, and if her pleasurable moans were any indication, she was all for it. So, he was letting them guide him right now as he pulled the sheet down below her belly button and gently leaning over her to trace his tongue along the underside of her bosom.

She arched her back and let out a satisfied sigh. He moved over to do the same to the other breast and moaned himself as her fingers tangled into his hair and massaged his scalp with her fingernails. He pulled at the sheet so he could press their naked bodies together uninhibited by the fabric.

"Hmm, what time is it?" Her voice was raspy from not being used all night.

He raised his head from his nuzzling and squinted over to his side table. "7:05." She groaned and ran her hands up and down his back. The pace of the movement told him she wouldn't be letting him continue his languid worship of her body.

"I have to get back to my place." She stretched. "I need new clothes."

He rested on top of her, his weight being supported by his elbows with his chin on her sternum and his belly against her pelvis, which was deliciously warm. "Can't you just transfigure something of mine?" He watched her face as she smirked and cracked her eyes open looking down at him.

"I think you can manage a few hours with out me."

He pouted a bit. "I _can_, but I'll be having to be with out you tonight too. You've got your girls night."

"You'll survive." She ran her thumb down his bottom lip before pushing at his shoulders to get him to roll on his back beside her.

He scooched up to sit back against the pillows and grabbed his glasses. If he couldn't talk her into staying, at least he could enjoy the sight of her walking around his room in her birthday suit a bit. She had a lovely sway of her hips as she swaggered into the bathroom and shut the door.

Last night, when she'd asked him about Sirius he'd been floored. She had been the Slytherin muffin girl. He shook his head. Of course she was. He wondered then if Sirius knew she was a Weasley or not. He was probably colour blind as a dog, so maybe he couldn't tell

He gave a good, proper stretch and looked out the window. It was an overcast day in smoggy, murky London. Harry tried to think of the last time he'd gotten out of the city when it wasn't for a mission, or heading to the Burrow. He didn't have any plans for tomorrow, and it could be the only full day off he would get with her. Harry suppressed the miserable points of that thought and focused on how to make the most of it. Staying in bed all day sounded great, but fresh air and fun was an appealing idea too. Usually his Saturday's were full of recovery from Friday night, lazing about on the couch listening to a Quidditch game.

Maybe they could go to a Quidditch game?

No. He dismissed the thought. The press hadn't really bothered him much over the years, but there was the chance that he'd get photographed with her, and he didn't want her to wear a disguise all day.

Maybe somewhere in the Muggle world? The sea was only an hour away by train.

"Hey, Ginny?" He asked.

A moment later, instead of a 'yeah?' response through the door, she opened it and rested herself against the frame while brushing her teeth with _his_ toothbrush. He smiled at the sight. She was so relaxed, baring herself to him completely and using his toiletries.

She raised her eyebrows in question. "Do you have any plans tomorrow?"

She kept brushing her teeth and cocked her head to the side, giving him a good look up and down his body. Her look exuded sex. He went from half mast to full as a subtle movement from her body that drew his attention to her teasingly erect nipples. Then she disappeared from the doorway. He heard her spit in the sink and run the tap. She was not playing fair.

Ginny walked casually back into the room and picked up her clothes from the floor, placing them on the end of the bed before starting to pull them on. "Did you have something else in mind?"

"Besides those knickers wiggling down your hips instead of up?"

She laughed. "Besides staying in bed all day."

"Oh! Right." She meant for tomorrow. "Did you want to go to Brighton tomorrow? Get out of the city? Some fresh air. We could go to the pier and I can win you a teddy bear." He smiled, teasing her roguishly.

She paused and stared at him a moment, holding her shirt in her right hand.

Harry couldn't quite read her expression or body language. It was like she was studying him for hidden narrative. But she looked pleased, and he saw goosebumps trail down her exposed arms.

"You want to take me out for the day? To the sea. And win me a teddy bear?" A slow grin broke out on her face, she wasn't teasing him, the tone was one of disbelief. Had she never been treated like this before? She was a tough as nails, no bull shit, Auror who'd apparently been through hell and back. But she was still a beautiful and exciting young woman, and he wanted to shower her with ridiculously expensive novelty items.

"You don't have an aversion to crowds and carnival food, do you? That's basically all the pier offers."

"No." She beamed and shrugged on her shirt. She crawled onto the bed and across to him and gave him a slow kiss. "That sounds great."

He hooked a finger in her belt loop to pull her closer. He wanted her straddling him and pressed against his chest, but she pulled back.

"I have to go." She kissed him once more. "I'll see you later."

He couldn't resist pouting at her again as she backed off the bed and left the bedroom all together.

Once he heard the front door open and close he resigned himself to heading for the shower. If he had a quick breakfast he could get to the gym by eight and try to calm his nerves down a bit. He felt like a teenager having just asked out his crush. It was a little disconcerting how his left hand vibrated a bit as it held his shampoo bottle.

()()()()()()()()

Harry had managed a good forty-minute work-out before showering and grabbing a tea and getting to his desk.

Ron was waiting for him. Apparently Hermione had been hounding him, and laying in to him, all night for more details about Ginny and pressuring him to get her to come to the Burrow on Sunday.

"All night mate! And I couldn't tell her anything about what Ginny's been up to, compulsion charm and what not. Though I do want to have a look through the files. See what missions she's been on."

"It's probably pretty classified." Harry was still angry at him for his role in Ginny's miserable school life. But how was he supposed to portray that when, to Ron he was just his friend that had little to do with his estranged sister.

"Yeah, maybe some of it. But, I mean. Can you believe it? Just one day comes along and you find out that your sister is this internationally known legendary Auror? And she's still got her whole career ahead of her."

Harry was doing his best not to show his discomfort. While he was sure access to her missions would probably be blocked, he didn't want to think of where her career was going to take her next, because there was a 99.1% chance it would be anywhere but London.

"It's been making me think." Ron continued at a lower volume. "I've been doing this for years now, and I'm only okay at it." Harry was used to Ron's insecurity. It came with the territory of having so many accomplished older siblings and a 'famous' best friend. Hermione was really making a name for herself in the Ministry too.

"You've been doing better than a lot of the others." Harry pointed out. "You haven't been sent to St. Mungo's."

"Yeah. But I think that is more of dumb luck. I only really got into being an Auror because of the war, the experiences I already had, and 'cause it sounded cool."

"You think you might want to change careers?" This was the first he'd mentioned of being unhappy where he was. He whinged about the job every now and again, but mostly the paperwork aspect.

Ron shrugged. "There's an opening in the Department of Magical Games and Sports. It'd be a good place to start if I wanted to move on to working for a Quidditch team one day."

They stared silently for a minute. Ron was really nervous. Was he looking for approval? Validation?

"Actually. I think that'd be great." Harry admitted. "You love Quidditch. It'd be way more interesting than answering noise complaints, or doing tours of Azkaban." There was something else he could see Ron was holding back. Ron's hand twitched a bit. Harry caught on. "And if you and Hermione want to start a family, you wouldn't have to worry about being gone on missions."

Ron grinned sheepishly. "That might be part of it."

"Wow." The thought of his two best friends having a kid. The two of them getting married had been an eventuality, so was them procreating he supposed, but it was still crazy to think about. He wondered what Sirius had felt like when he learned his best friend was having a kid. It was surreal.

"So, you're cool with it?"

Harry was confused by the question. Why would he have a problem with it? "I'm going to be the Godfather, right?"

Ron laughed. "Not that, you idiot. But yes, of course. I meant me leaving here."

"Oh! Hey mate, I just want you to be happy. Maybe I'll get teamed up with a 'real' Auror now." Harry teased.

Ron slugged him in the shoulder. "Okay. I'm going to put in for the job."

"Good."

They got called out on a job to deal with a hexed lamp that made its way into a Muggle Bed and Breakfast. The lamp would sporadically send orbs of light out into the air and the orbs would explode confetti. Looked like a joke item. It didn't have a plug, just a button, and no place for batteries.

They contained the lamp and modified the Muggle's memory before taking it to the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Department. Ron dropped off his application at the Games and Sports before they got back to the office.

Harry paused just on the outside of his cubicle. There looked to be a bit of a shimmer across the area where his chair was. As he was just pulling out his wand to check it, Andrews had come out of the kitchen to his desk and sat in his chair. Andrews was instantly engulfed in Peruvian Darkness Powder. The cloud of powder stayed contained in an orb around the area and he fell out of the orb hacking and scratching himself all over.

There must have been itching powder mixed in there, along with something else, because he was turning a sickly green. Seamus rushed over to him and started casting a few spells to give him relief before helping him out of the office.

Harry turned back to his own area and cast a few detection spells. The shimmer was coming from a shield charm. It was harmless. He walked through it and felt no difference.

Andrew's booby trap went off after he sat down though. Harry crouched down and surveyed his chair.

"What are you doing?" Ron called over the divider.

"Pretty sure that whatever just happened to Andrews was also about to happen to me if I hadn't seen the shield around my desk." Harry explained.

One more carefully chosen spell and he'd located the trap. There was a pouch camouflaged on his chair. It just looked like the padding on the seating was a little fluffier than usual. He disabled it and removed it, then held it up for Ron.

"Yep." Ron nodded. "You're definitely the better Auror."

Harry regarded the pouch as a prize. He'd passed her test.

()()()()()

After lunch they went into the conference room. Reports from the morning group that day had simply been that the training was straight forward, but difficult. Taking their seats they saw one word on the board.

Stealth.

Harry got a little excited. This should be good. They had training in it from the Auror Training Program, but the Chameleon had been renowned for that more than anyone else, thus the moniker. Everyone had filed in and taken their seats. They'd been sitting patiently and quietly for her to come in, but she was either running late. Or…

Harry smiled to himself. He'd bet his broom that she was already there. Abruptly he rose and went to the corner of the room and cast a charm. It shot out a wave of light that rippled out across the room and as the light came in contact with something it would glide up and over it to continue on its way.

The light went up and over the confused faces of his fellow training mates, and one extra person. "Finite." Harry cast and Ginny appeared leaning against the wall by the exit.

"That is a very useful spell Auror Potter." She inclined her head in an approving gesture. "Please return to your seat."

Her whole attitude meant business. It was like she wasn't the same woman that had been naked in his bed that morning. He should be used to it by now, but Auror Ginny still turned him on as much as naked Ginny, no matter how intimidating she was right then. He returned to his seat.

"How'd you know?" Ron whispered.

Harry just pointed to the word on the board. "It's really all we needed, right?"

"Anyone else have an inkling that I'd been there the whole time?" Ginny asked. Everyone shook their head 'no'. "I wasn't just there either. I walked across the tables. I stood directly behind one of you, and I lifted a chap stick." She pulled a red tube from her pocked and tossed it back to Beverly. "Name the spells that I could have used to do that undetected in the few moments before Auror Potter discovered me." She uncapped a marker and went to the board.

"Disillusionment." Ron called out. She wrote it down.

"Levis Tactus." Beverly said. Ginny wrote down the spell to make yourself feather light.

"Muffliato?" Tonks suggested.

Ginny didn't write that one down. "Unfortunately, the Muffliato doesn't move with you. If you are concerned that someone might hear your breathing, then you could try the gagging spell I used on Auror Finnegan yesterday. However, you'd better be able to do a non-verbal to remove it. Better to just moderate your breathing. What else?"

"Scourgify?" Harry offered.

"Close, but no. A Non Odorem. Scorgify will get you clean, but you would still be able to smell certain scents; like sweat, shampoo, or pheromones in particular."

"You can _smell_ pheromones?" Tonks asked.

"There are quite a few people that can. Like your husband for one." Ginny told them. Not for the first time, Harry wondered if she was an Animagus. "Now. For today's training you will all have to make it from one side of the room to the other, crossing the desks with your coworkers still seated at them, undetected. And for those of you sitting, you will try to catch them. But, if you try and you only catch air, you will have to do your test again. And no beams of light, Potter. You can only use your senses to try and catch them."

She went to the front and sat cross legged on her table and put the marker behind her. "You'll have finished when you get the marker from behind my back." Ginny then put on a pair of yellow goggles of sort. "Starting form the back. You're up Lupin."

Tonks stood and went to the far corner, then disappeared.

One by one they started taking their turns. After she'd called Daniels out for cheating by walking behind the chairs instead of on the desks, when no one could see them, they knew that the yellow glasses were giving away their location somehow. Daniels had to start over, but still failed to get to the front.

After every unsuccessful attempt they discussed what went wrong.

It was Ron's turn. Harry was last. Ron went to the far corner and applied all of his charms. Five minutes went by, no one had grabbed hold of him. Then Ginny put her hand out abruptly and grasped something.

"Very good job Weasley. Not good enough though." She smirked slightly. "Take a seat." Ron removed his spells and sat down. "You managed to get by all of your colleagues. Why do you thing I caught you?"

"Something to do with those glasses." Ron stated.

"That's right. They're a Muggle invention. What do you think they do?"

"Do they show you where the person's body heat is?" Tonks asked.

"No, though they do have those too. They are much bulkier." Ginny said and checked for anyone else that had a guess. No one did. "Okay. Potter, your turn."

Harry thought on it as he went to stand in the far corner. His being the last person to go gave him a major advantage. He knew now where not to step because the table might shift. He knew not to go too fast because he'd create a shift in the air. But he didn't know how to evade those glasses. They must be able to distort the light or something.

He silently cast all of the spells to make him undetectable, and an extra one to create a tight shield around him. He cast a charm to create a shield bubble in front of him too. That was difficult magic. A single bead of sweat ran down his forehead when he made it so the shield bubble would shadow his movements, then he started.

He got to the third desk and almost tripped at the sound of Ginny's voice. "Andrew's you'll be next." It had been completely silent in the room as he made his way. Andrews was in the front row at the table beside his and Ron's. He must have reached out to try and stop Harry.

Delicately Harry levitated himself down from the middle row and walked over to the front row. He levitated back up and onto Andrews desk and crossed to his and Ron's desk. Ron's hand snapped out and grabbed his ankle. Harry removed his spells.

"Good job, Weasley." Ginny said. "How did you know?"

Ron leaned down to the desk and blew across the surface. There had been a light sprinkling of some kind of dust there. Harry hadn't noticed it before, and he and Ron were the only one's that had gotten that far. "Saw the disturbance.'

Ginny looked pleased with him. "Clever" She nodded. Ron looked pretty smug. "Bonus points on the shield charm Potter. But the extra phantom one was very noticeable when it walked off the table instead of floating down to the floor." Ginny told him.

"Bugger." Harry chided himself. The others chuckled.

Andrews was the last to go again. He didn't make it far. Tonks heard him breathing too loudly.

"Overall, you lot did a pretty fair job." Ginny said taking off her goggle things. "And these glasses simply block out haze and blue light, so you can see contrast better. The disillusionment charm is not infallible to them. I did have to be looking very carefully to find you though." She got down off the desk and rubbed her legs. "That was uncomfortable." She muttered. She'd been sitting cross legged for the better part of an hour.

"Alright. So a lot of the Stealth and Tracking stuff was taught to you in Auror Training. You need to keep practicing. Obviously most situations won't be so silent that you could hear a pin drop, so you wouldn't have to worry about being entirely quiet, or ridiculously slow. In normal scenarios the lot of you could have gotten up to the front and grabbed the marker." She surveyed the room one more time. "Any questions?"

"Can you tell us one of the situations you were in where you had to use all of what we worked on today?" Andrew asked her.

Ginny cringed slightly. "I can tell you it involved a dragon and a ringmaster, and it was foiled by a jacket."

"A jacket?"

"Yes. I was standing up against a wall and someone tossed a jacket at me. It was noticed when the jacket didn't fall to the floor right away." She shrugged. "It may have completely blown my cover, but what happened next was…" She paused, shook her head and let out a shiver. "You'll need workout clothes for Monday, and we'll be in the gym. Now bugger off and have a good weekend."

She watched as they stood up. "Oh! One more thing. Be sure to eat at least an hour before your session."

"Huh." Ron said beside him. "Think she's going to kick our asses?"

"Probably." Harry smiled.

()()()()()()

Harry had not been looking forward to this evening. Fridays were usually when he'd go out for a drink or two with some friends, and maybe find a nice girl to talk into coming back to his place. But the last three evenings he'd spent with Ginny, and they'd been wonderful. Surprising and other worldly too. But wonderful.

Tonight however, she was going out with her roommate and her friends. The grateful prostitutes. That would fall under the 'other worldly' category. It was weird to think about. But it didn't bother her what they did for a living, and it sounded like they were all friendly.

Since he was being deprived of an evening with her, he agreed to going out with Seamus, Ron and some other lads. Ron had one drink, then ran off home to Hermione. The other guys peeled off one by one until there was just Seamus, Dean and himself tying one on. They loaded up on food at the Leaky, and drink. Harry paced himself somewhat, at least compared to them.

"Do you guys usually hit up the brothel when you can't be bothered to put in the effort at the pub?" He asked.

They'd talked about it on Monday after they'd been 'exposed'. But Harry was in a bit of a stupor about other revelations. And picturing Ginny as they'd described her would definitely cause a reaction he'd rather not have had in the presence of her brother.

"Ahh. Once or twice." Dean shrugged.

"More like once a month." Seamus confessed happily. "Due a nice treat every now and again! You telling me you've never paid for it?"

Harry shook his head 'no'. Personally he'd rather wank than pay for sex.

"You joking mate?" Dean asked Seamus. "This is Harry bloody Potter! Girls will be lining up to pay _him_ for it."

Harry felt his ears tinge pink at that. He pushed back from the table. "Think I've seen enough of the pub for tonight." He tried to excuse himself from them.

"Right you are!" Seamus nearly shouted. "To a club we go!"

"Oh. I was gunna-"

"Come to the club with us." Dean cut him off. "It's been a full-on week. You can't leave me alone with him." He gestured to Seamus. Seamus just stood there, looking proud of himself. "Come on. What'd you have waiting for you at home?"

Harry repressed a snarl at that. While there may not be someone at home waiting for him, that didn't mean he wanted to go trolling for women like these two were geared up to do. Though, staying out with company was still preferential to going home where he'd undoubtedly just sit wondering what Ginny was getting up to.

"Yeah, alright."

"Fantastic. I know just the place!" Seamus bounded out the door, headed to Muggle London.

"Er… he's not going to take us to that brothel, is he?" Harry asked Dean.

Dean snorted. "Doubt it after finding out he was being taped."

Harry took comfort in that, and they rushed to catch up with him. Seamus led them to a Karaoke bar, where Harry and Dean gave him all kinds of encouragement to get up on stage and sing a terrible rendition of 'Cryin' by Aerosmith. People threw popcorn and the three of them left right after.

Dean managed to find them an actual club with a neon entrance, music vibrating through the door and a velvet rope.

"Oi!" Seamus yelled at the bouncer. "How hot are the girls in there?"

"Oh Geez." Harry groaned at him and whacked him in the chest.

"Fuckin hot mate." The bouncer confirmed. "Had a group of em go in an hour ago. Still wondering if I should quit my job right now and follow em in."

"Wicked." Seamus grinned drunkenly. He looked at the line-up of people waiting. "Fifty?"

"Plus ten a pop."

"Got it." He pulled out his wallet and forked over eighty pounds. People in the line groaned. Harry shrugged at Dean as the bouncer pulled back the rope to let the three of them in.

Personally, Harry wouldn't have paid it. He probably would have just found the back entrance and let himself in there if he were inclined. But if Seamus was paying, who was he to say no?

It was pretty dark inside. There were some strobe lights, the few tables that they could see had neon lights running up the legs, and the music was very loud, but had a good beat. The place was pretty packed, and sure enough there were some very attractive girls dancing on the little raised stages.

Seamus made a bee line for the dance floor, rubbing his hands together. Harry headed for the bar, followed closely by Dean.

"Just a beer, yeah?" He yelled back, Dean nodded and looked at the dancing girls.

It took forever to get the drinks, he found Dean and handed him one, then they found their way to a table by the dance floor. They couldn't see Seamus in the sea of people, but enjoyed the view. The dancers they did see were all very hot from what they could tell in the lighting, and their clothes were showing off their bodies very teasingly.

Dean tapped his shoulder and pointed to one of the stages, where Seamus was, doing what could only be described as peacocking for the girl on the stage with him.

They finished their beers pretty fast. Seamus located them right before Harry was about to start into his. "Whew!" He shouted so they could hear him. "I need to cool down."

They moved back from the dance floor. Harry would need at least two more fast beers if he was going to get on the floor. Dean offered to go grab the drinks this time. The other two managed to find a sit down table when he came back with the drinks. Harry was just about to ask how he managed that so quickly when there was a kerfuffle near them.

Looked like some guy was making unwanted advances on a girl. She was trying to put him in his place. The three of them were watching the scene unfold. Her friends started getting involved. His friends started getting involved. The guys had their backs to the table, so the three wizards couldn't quite see anyone's faces.

A quieter song came on and they could catch some tidbits of the conversation. "That girl look familiar to you?" Dean leaned over to Seamus.

"Wanted it!" They heard one of the guys say.

Slap.

Slap.

The three stood up to jump in just as one of the guys was spun around and slammed down on their table.

"Apologize." One of the girls had his arm twisted behind him and was holding him down.

"Fuck off you bitch." The guy shouted back at her.

"I said." He was lifted up slightly and slammed back down. "Apologize." She yelled louder.

The guy managed to pull himself back up. The girl that had thrown him down ducked his swinging fist and thrust her palm up at his face, effectively giving him a bloody nose. "Ohhh.' The guys mates stepped back. This girl knew how to handle herself. The three wizards were frozen in shock as all three seemed to realize at the same time that this girl was Ginny.

The guy swung again. He accidentally hit his friend and she twisted his arm behind him and slammed him back down onto their table.

"Now. You _will_ apologize to her now before I shove my arm so far up your ass that you'll be singing your apology to her like a fucking puppet on a Saturday morning kids show."

"Crazy bitch!" He cried out in pain.

"You're just lucky you caught me before I hit _Psycho_ Crazy Bitch level drunk, or I'd've already past your prostate." She pulled him back up and twisted his arm harder.

"Ah!" He screamed. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'll never do it again."

She kneed him in the back and released his arm so he landed on all fours at the other girls feet. He picked himself up and ran off towards the exit with his mates close behind him.

"Whew! That almost killed my buzz!" She yelled at her friends. They were laughing and clapping for her. She gave a playful curtsy and turned back to Harry, Dean and Seamus' table. "Sorry about that. Oh!" She finally looked at them.

"All Right!" Seamus thrust both his fists in the air. "That was brilliant!"

Ginny stared shocked at Harry, and her gaze slid over to Seamus, whose arms remained in the air. Her shocked expression slid off her face and she gave a seductive grin. "Entertaining enough to earn me drink?"

"I got it!" Dean exclaimed and ran off.

Bridgette came up beside Ginny and whispered something in her ear. Ginny gave her a look and nodded, smiling, then tapped her nose. Bridgette giggled.

"When did you guys get here?" Ginny yelled to them over the music.

"Half hour ago." Seamus yelled back. "Who are your friends?"

"You know them actually. Some of them fairly intimately." She winked.

"Knew I recognized them! Care to re-introduce us?"

"No. This is a girls night out. No men unless I'm beating them up, or the nights over. I've still got a good hour left in me until then." She gave Harry a private smile.

He was so caught up taking in her hot little outfit and how her eyes looked so different with all that make-up on them, sexy. She was this hot little warrior woman, and he was drinking in every little piece of it.

His brain took a moment to comprehend what she said. One more hour with the girls before she'd be wanting some male attention. His male attention.

His 'male' was bloody standing at 'attention' for her right then. He couldn't get his mouth to close. He nodded very slightly and couldn't stop a stupid grin from coming to his face.

()()()()

**AN- Didn't care to write in a scene where Seamus tells Dean that the brothel was being taped, or make up a reason for Ginny to be there. So just go with it.**

**I try to update these stories once a week, but I have a good excuse for missing the past few. I was travelling through Scotland, and there was a surprisingly little amount of rain. Hell of a lot of sheep though :)**


	10. The Weekend

**AN- Normally I do one chapter in the past, one in the present (2004), however I am changing things up for this one. For reasons you will see later.**

**London- 2004**

Ginny was in her own room when she woke up. She was on her side, facing the wall, and Harry was tucked close behind her, spooning. She rolled over and pushed him onto his back gently. He let out a single loud snore and she snickered and curled into his side with her hand on his chest.

He still had his undershirt on. She shifted a bit and felt the restrictions of her own shirt as well. They hadn't been too drunk when they'd left the club last night, but Bridgette and Chantal were. Luckily Seamus and Dean had been very occupied with some ladies, otherwise they might have been a little more interested in the fact that she'd asked Harry to help her get the girls home.

She'd been surprised to see the three of them there last night.

Harry didn't really come across as the club type, but Finnegan sure did. Harry hadn't gotten up to dance at all, but from all he'd whispered in her ear after they deposited Bridgett and Chantal in the other bedroom and cast a silencing spell, he'd thoroughly enjoyed watching her dance.

They were both quite pleasantly buzzed as he told her what he'd enjoyed the most while his hands wandered all over her body. He'd pulled her back flush against his front and ground his erection against her bum while his hands dipped into her shorts and under her shirt to her bra.

Now, Ginny looked over at the dresser in front of the window. Everything was knocked over and had been swiped to the side or onto the floor. She'd done that when he'd slid her shorts down and taken her from behind.

She bit her lip at the memory of it. It had been so hot. She'd never done it that way before. It was so primal and animalistic. They were definitely going to do that again. Just thinking about it she felt herself grow wet.

Ginny let her hand travel down his torso. His manhood wasn't quite flaccid. She played with it, stroking and swirling her finger over the head until he grew fully hard. She sat up and pulled the sheet around her as she straddled him and slid herself down on his shaft.

She barely heard his satisfied sigh over her own moan of pleasure. He went so deep in this position. She began slowly rocking back and forth with a small up and down motion. Her head was thrown back with her eyes closed, her whole body was focused solely on recreating the amazing pleasure that the pressure of him hitting the spot deep inside her made. Over and over again.

"Take your shirt off." He whispered.

Ginny flinched at the sound of his voice. She was so caught up in her desire and mounting pleasure, she almost forgot he was a part of it. She bit her lip to stop from laughing at the ridiculousness of that and looked down at him. His hands were running up and down her legs, and still he'd made her start.

She pulled the shirt over her head and tossed it to the side. She kept up her pace and rhythm and threw her head back again. She was so close. Harry grabbed her hips, but that pushed her climax away. She slapped his hands away and kept up, ignoring his little chuckle. Chuckles were not sexy.

As she rode him she felt as though her orgasm was something being held out in front of her. She had to grab it at the right time, in the right way and hold it tight in her fist in order for it to be truly satisfying, otherwise she'd still grab it, but it would run through her fingers like sand, and much to quickly to be as pleasurable as she knew it could be.

This time it was like she grabbed it with both hands. She only heard the echo's of her moans and profanity reverberating off the walls. She couldn't control what was coming out of her mouth. She crested that mountain of pleasure and collapsed down on his chest dizzy and shaking. She knew if she opened her eyes' she'd be seeing spots.

"That is a mighty big grin." Harry smiled underneath her. Ginny hadn't realized she was grinning. Gently he rolled them on their side. She could only nuzzle him in response. She felt him tuck some of her hair behind her hears before she heard him say the sexiest thing she'd ever heard;

"I'll be right back with some coffee for you." Her grin grew bigger and she grabbed his pillow as he stood and pulled on his clothes.

What felt like a second later she heard the unmistakable sound of a coffee mug being put down on a hard surface. She must have fallen back asleep. Harry was standing beside her looking pretty proud of himself.

"You look pretty happy." She said stretching and sitting up to grab the coffee mug.

"I had a really nice wake-up call."

Ginny snorted lightly into her mug. "And I didn't even let you finish."

"Doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the ride." He sat back down on the bed.

"Hmm. Thank you for the coffee." She relaxed back against the wall of pillows.

"You are welcome. I, uh, I had a lot of fun last night." He smiled wickedly. She raised one eyebrow at him and inclined her head towards the dresser. "Yeah. That, and other things."

"You made that pretty clear. Get a little of the spirits in you and you get very vocal about what you like and how you like it."

"Ha! I meant more watching you make a grown man cry. Believe me, I had no doubt you were capable of it, but seeing it is something else. Do you even remember what you threatened him with?" He beamed.

She let out a laugh. "Oh! That. Well, cards on the table, I've used that one before. It is very effective." Ginny told him. Harry chuckled and sipped his tea. "That didn't disturb you at all?"

"Christ no. I'm pretty sure my first coherent thought was about you being a hot warrior woman."

Ginny felt some relief at that. She climbed around the bed to sit against the wall with him and enjoy her drink looking out the window. They sat there contently enjoying their beverages and the simple pleasure of each others quiet company.

"Do you want to go full Muggle and take the train from London Bridge to Brighton?" He asked as he finished the last of his tea.

"Need more experience in the Muggle world?" She nudged him a little.

"Well, that bit about their technology was true with me. I still don't know how to send you a message on the mobile you slipped me." Ginny smiled, not telling him the battery was probably dead by now, and he'd need a charger. "But I _did_ grow up in the Muggle world, and I think I did a good job with that task." He sat up a little taller.

"You did. You've been doing the best out of everyone. Although, with the case on Thursday…" He had been the one to guess it'd been her. And it could have been that he had the unfair advantage of knowing her the best, but maybe not.

"Seamus seems to have taken it well." Harry said.

She just leaned her head on his shoulder. "Taking the train sounds nice."

He kissed the top of her head. He seemed to get that she wasn't interested in discussing it. "How about you get dressed. We'll pop over to my place for my clothes, and breakfast, then we'll head in." He took her empty mug and got up to head to the kitchen.

"Sounds like a plan." She shed her blanket-turned-robe, and made for the dresser.

()()()()()

Considering it was a warm and sunny weekend day in mid-August, the train was pretty empty. Brighton was a tourist spot. The Lanes, Brighton Beach, the Pier.

Ginny had put on a summer dress and a pair of nice flats, and wore her hair down. She couldn't believe her emotions. She'd been sleeping with him for the last four nights, obviously he liked her, but this was her first ever real date, and she was all giddy.

She kept chastising herself, she'd gone on a hundred undercover missions, fought in two wars and taken several lives, how could she possibly be turning into a teenage fan girl of sorts, all twitching with excitement and nerves.

Fortunately Harry looked a little nervous too. Every few minutes they would glance at each other as they sat side by side on the train and she would watch a flush creep up his neck and he'd glance back out the window.

By the time the train was about half way between London and Brighton she'd calmed herself enough and reached out to clasp her hand in his. His smile as their fingers intertwined calmed her even more. She felt a warmth rise in her chest.

This was going to be a great day.

()()

They started off walking down into the windy labyrinth of the Lanes. It was a pedestrian only area that had cobblestone walkways and funny shops all on the first floors, flats on the second.

It was quite like Diagon Alley in that respect, except the buildings actually looked structurally sound, were only two stories and in a grid formation. There were loads of people walking through and stopping to peer at the different wares, Harry and Ginny did as well. They stopped into a little coffee shop for a take away cup and a scone.

Neither of them had been there before and she found it was quite fun to get a little turned around and lost. The wound up following a flow of pedestrians and spilled out of the Lanes area into a grassy park by the Royal Pavilion. Ginny had looked up the general street map of Brighton the day before, after Harry had suggested it, and she knew that the Pier was very close by.

Considering there was so much conversation that could flow between them that could be considered taboo, like anything having to do with Tom Riddle, or what they've been up to since as Auror's, her family or anything about the magical world really because they were surrounded by Muggles, she found herself talking almost non-stop about all of the activities she'd tried in her off time over the past few years. He seemed really interested too.

She talked about surfing, snorkeling, skiing, skating and hiking. None of which he'd ever tried, save for hiking, but he hadn't done it as a pass time. Harry in turn just went to the pub with mates or the gym. He admitted he was a little envious of all of her experiences.

They made their way down the pier and managed to ignore the intoxicating smells coming from the crepe food stand, confirming their desire to go back to that once it was lunch time.

The day was beautiful, blue skies and a soft breeze coming off the sea, it wasn't quite as hot at the pier as it had been in the Lanes, which was a mercy. They strolled down to the carnival side of the pier at the end and Harry purchased tickets for them to try out some of the rides. They started off easy. The Merry-Go-Round, then bumper cars, finishing off at the roller coaster.

He pulled her into the indoor games area and did in fact win her a teddy bear with all of the tickets he got out of the lit up games machines. When he offered it to her with a cheesy grin, she fought the urge to hug it to her chest like it was the most precious thing she'd ever been given. Instead she opted to drag him to a more secluded spot around the side of the building and snog the daylights out of him like a pair of randy teenagers.

They left the pier, grabbing a crepe on the way out and walked down the pebble beach until they got to the multi-colored bath houses of Hove and turned around, back toward the pier.

They sat on a more abandoned part of the beach and snuggled together in intermitted silence and conversation, interspersed with a bit of kissing, until they watched the sun go down.

"Harry?" She said once the light was nearly gone.

"Yeah?" He kissed the back of her head, she was now nestled between his legs looking out at the West Pier. The steel structure was all that was left of this pier. They'd been watching the swarm of birds burst out of it for a lazy fly around before they nestled back down into the partly demolished structure they'd made their home.

"This was my first date. Technically." He was silent for a while. She didn't know why she told him that, it just felt like it was something that should be said.

"I wondered about that yesterday." He admitted.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. You just seemed so stunned when I asked. It was a little hard to believe that it could be possible though. I mean. You're… you."

"I'm me?" She felt one of his hands leave her side and didn't need to look behind her to know he was ruffling the hair on the back of his head.

"Well, you're kind of amazing. Can be pretty intimidating. Yeah, but… I just."

She found it cute how flustered he was getting. She patted his leg to stop him. Because she knew what he was trying to say.

"And, how was it?"

She was glad he couldn't see the stupid, love-sick, grin that was plastered to her face at the question. "Kind of amazing." She answered and snuggled her back against his front a little more. He leaned down and kissed her neck at that. "And how many dates have you been on?"

He groaned. "A few. None like this though."

She ran her hands up and down his arms that had come to be wrapped around her middle. "What have they been like?" She was curious.

"Just dinner, then back to mine or hers really."

"Hmm. Right to the juicy stuff, eh?"

He chuckled. "Always a little awkward at the dinner portion, but just so you know. The 'juicy stuff' was never near as good as it had been this week."

She laughed. "I'll admit, it's the same for me too."

"And you?"

"Me?"

"Yeah, you say you've never had a date before but you were obviously not 'inexperienced' in bed before Tuesday."

"Ah. Well, my experience involved a series of respectably timed out one-night stands. Usually right after getting off a mission and throwing caution to the wind."

"Had a few of those myself."

The night was setting in properly now and it was getting cold.

"How about we go back to yours?" She asked him.

"Apparate?" She responded by gripping his arm a little tighter, and making sure she had her teddy bear.

He brought them directly to his bedroom. They were in the same position they had been on the beach, with him back against the pillows. Slowly he trailed kisses from her ear to her collarbone and she shivered in pleasure.

Gradually and deliberately they wound up laying down and removing piece after piece of clothing and coming together in the most pleasurably slow sex she'd ever had.

The term 'making love' had always made her cringe. Any other term for it she'd been fine with. There were about a hundred synonyms one could use for sex, but that one bore the closest resemblance for what they were doing. Gentle, caressing, kissing, clutching, steady penetration that ensured they both felt every millimeter of movement inside her, until they finished together.

After she was snuggled into his side, her body completely satisfied, and her mind completely worried.

Harry Potter, this Harry Potter, not the one in the media and the history books that was simply an icon and war hero. But this Harry Potter was so easily lovable and wonderful. She was only there for one more week. Already she knew leaving him behind was going to be painful, and she'd always be playing the 'what if' game.

And there were already a lot of 'what ifs'. What if her family found out about them. What if he knew all she'd done in the Battle of Hogwarts and couldn't look at her the same again. What if she fell in love with him. She'd be crushed.

What was she going to do? Stay in England with him after two weeks of fooling around? That was ludicrous. But then again, this was who she'd been attracted to for years. His eyes, his smile, his whole demeanor, his history.

It took her a long time to fall asleep that night. She kept her breathing moderated and her eyes closed. She couldn't block out all of the scenarios of what was potentially going to happen between them seven days from now that were running through her head.

Finally, around two a.m., she just focused on his breathing and drifted off.

()()()()()()()()()

Harry thought he should really invest in some black-out curtains.

The sun was a great wake-up call in the mornings that it rose shining into his bedroom. The days that there were sunshine instead of clouds anyways. But on mornings such as this one, having the sun glaring into your face was a pain in the ass. He was insanely comfortable and didn't _want_ to be awake. He didn't want to move to find his wand in his discarded jeans either. It would require too much movement and his mental faculties would have him too conscious by then to slip back into la la land.

After his amazing day, and night, with Ginny yesterday he couldn't help but think about where he could take her next. Then feel his stomach drop because for all he knew, he might never get a chance for a next.

It was Sunday and he would be expected back at the Burrow, and she might be gone off on her next adventure by Saturday.

He'd felt her body snuggled close to him, something he'd come to adore over their nights together. He'd been up half the night wondering how crazy it would be if he just packed up his life and went with her. All of the experiences she'd had, the things she'd learned, it all sounded amazing. He'd only been outside of the U.K. once to help Hermione search for her parents in Australia after the war. He didn't know how to ski or snorkel, he barely knew how to swim, and he lived on an island.

It could be a great experience to move to another country and see what the world had to offer. Doing that with Ginny would be a dream come true.

But they'd been 'together' for less than a week only. Putting aside the fact that there was still so much mystery to her that she seemed unwilling to talk about. He knew that there would be something truly terrible she might have had to do in the past.

But he was certain it was in a 'had to' type situation. In his mind, that didn't count. He still didn't even know if she was an Animagus. He was pretty sure she was, but he hadn't asked. They hadn't discussed the important things. There was no way he should be thinking about running away with her if they couldn't discuss the hard parts.

He'd just never come across anyone else that he was as captivated with as he was with Ginny. He cracked his eye open at the light coming in through the window and looked down at the woman in his arms.

Yeah, he was completely falling in love with her.

He knew that before she threatened to shove her fist up some guys ass in defense of her friend. That thought made him chuckle.

"Mmrft." Came a mumble from Ginny. "You need black-out curtains."

He chuckled again. "I was just thinking the same thing."

She looked up at him. He couldn't tell what was going through her mind, but he loved her sleepy doe eyes how they looked first thing in the morning. She shimmied up his body so they were face to face on the pillow and he turned onto his side, pressing their bodies together. He ran his hand down her back and relished in the feelings she gave him as she reciprocated the motion on him.

He would have been content staring into her beautiful brown eyes and smiling and touching her like that all morning. Having her hook her leg over his waist and settle herself down on his erection was good with him too.

Morning sex was something he hadn't experienced with anyone else, and it was marvelous, but this time he was grateful that she reached her finish relatively quickly, because as wonderful as it always felt to be inside her, she managed to awaken his body enough to realize that he really should have had a wee before she got a leg over.

He tried to wait a little bit after she'd cum but he couldn't. She laughed at his retreat into the bathroom after extricating himself from their entangled limbs.

By the time he came back out of the bathroom she wasn't in the bed. He heard her moving around in the kitchen, putting the kettle on.

"What time are you due to head over today?" She asked.

Harry glanced over at the clock on the stove. It was eight a.m. "I've got about three hours." She'd pulled on his button up dress shirt. She smiled at him as she leaned back against the counter and let him stare at her bare legs. "What are you going to get up to today?" He asked her, trying to keep his body calm.

"I've a work-out planned. I also need to practice a few spells for the training session tomorrow and get a few supplies." She came to stand in front of him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Did I say thank you yet? For yesterday?"

"I don't think so." He smiled at her.

"Hmm." She closed her eyes and hugged him. "I'll have to do that after we get some food in us. Don't know if I've the energy for it right this second."

His cock twitched in response.

()()()()()()()

It was really good that none of the Weasley's were Legilimence. There was no way that Harry was going to be able to keep the image of Ginny's 'thank-you' after breakfast out of his mind for the whole of his visit.

Every time he closed his eyes, there it was, the image of her head bobbing in the shower. Completely wet and taking him in her mouth.

Holy Fuck he needed to not think about it. He was probably going to have to fly around with some of the kids and Weasley boys soon. Incredibly uncomfortable to fly with an erection.

He managed to calm himself as he headed down the path to the Burrow. The thought of the Weasley brothers and Bill and Percy's kids throwing up on him was enough to do the job.

"Hello all." He said entering the kitchen. The twins were there, Ron, Hermione, Bill and Fleur and their two kids along with Molly and Arthur. Just Percy, Audrey and their oldest missing. Only. Harry reminded himself. Ginny had told him about them expecting again, but it hadn't been announced yet.

They all said hello and Molly gave him a hug. The kitchen was bursting with people before he got there, but it seemed Harry was the last straw before Molly kicked them all outside. Victoire ran past him followed quickly by a bumbling Domonique after her big sister.

Ron and Hermione didn't waste much time in pulling him aside for a private conversation. He'd been dreading it. There was no way Hermione would let something like this go. Ron he could convince to let it be and let Ginny make her own decisions. Hermione would not be talked down.

"We have to at least test the waters." Hermione argued. "Maybe if we just see what their reactions are to her name, then you two can let her know if they are receptive to the idea of her coming back into their lives."

"I don't know." Ron worried. "She didn't say anything about wanting to get in touch with them…"

"Then why don't we just bring her up in a round about way? Like, ask Molly what she'd done with her room?" Hermione conspired.

"Yeah. Yeah. Good idea." Ron agreed.

Harry gave no input. He was wholly uncomfortable with making any kind of decision about this, but he was dying to know what the reaction from the family would be.

He and Ron got pulled into a pick-up game of Quidditch while Hermione joined Fleur and Audrey in the kitchen for prep. The game had been very tame as Fred had Victoire on his broom and George had Dominique. Ron offered to let Percy's daughter Molly on his, but she turned up her nose. Percy and Audrey were nice enough people, but still gave Harry the impression of his Aunt Petunia with how uptight they were. And their air of thinking themselves slightly 'better than'. Young Molly had clearly learned to impersonate that. It was too bad to. He could only imagine her going to Hogwarts with all of her cousins and being the only Weasley on the 'outs' just like Percy had been.

They were all called down to the table in the garden and started passing around plates of food. He was trying to remain calm on the outside as he waited for Hermione to say something.

Percy mad an announcement first. "Everyone." He stood up to get all of their attention. "We have some exciting news."

"You're getting married!" Fred gushed.

"You're going to be Minister of Magic!" George added happily.

"Did you finally pass that bill on cauldron thickness?" Fred asked.

"Shush." Percy glared at them. "Audrey and I are expecting again."

"Oh!" Molly jumped up from her spot at the head of the table and rushed over to them, giving each of them a kiss on the cheek. Everyone else smiled and clapped. The fifth of that generation was exciting, but not nearly as much as Victoire's announcement had been.

Once Molly sat down again, Hermione turned to her. "Did you ever turn Ginny's room into a nursery?"

There was a noticeable pause in everyone's activity. Harry paid special attention to Molly. There was a flash of something there in her eyes before she bristled slightly and blinked whatever emotion had just surfaced away.

"Nursery?"

Hermione didn't show any alternative objective in her face at the question. "Well, all the grandkids, I was just curious. Hers was the closest to the main floor. I thought you might have changed it around for nap rooms for the little ones."

Arthur shifted a bit uncomfortable. "We haven't." He answered for his wife. "Haven't been in that room in a few years."

Fred picked up on his parents discomfort at the subject of Ginny and started telling a story of a kid who made an all too obvious show of trying to steal from their shop. He and George took a page from Hermione's book and had 'sneak' branded on the kids forehead temporarily, making sure his parents knew who put it there and why.

"Did you get your wards re-done?" Ron asked.

"Yeah, but it's weird. Looks like someone might have tampered with the last one." George told them. Ron gave Harry a look.

"Don't know why someone would be messing about with that." Fred picked up. "Maybe Zonko's is trying to make a come back and get us in some trouble with our neighbors."

George shook his head. "Don't know what he would want to do that for. If he was hard up for cash 'e could've just taken the job offer we gave him when we took over the Hogsmeade business." They laughed.

Truthfully the owner of Zonko's was all too happy to sell to them. Forty years of snotty Hogwarts kids and none of his own to take over for him. Harry knew that Bilton Bilmes was ready to hang up his never ending sleeve scarves. He and Ron couldn't tell the twins what had actually happened though.

The lunch carried on and Hermione didn't bring up Ginny again. Bill did though. As soon as Molly and Arthur left the table to go and grab the pudding.

"What did you have to mention her name for?" He asked his sister-in-law.

"I just asked about her room."

"Mum and Dad might not mention it, but they are obviously still gutted about losing their only daughter. They've just had over a decade of hiding it."

Hermione's brow furrowed. "What would happen if she were back suddenly?" She asked in a tentative manner.

Bill, Percy and the twins stared at her intently.

"What do you know?" Percy asked, his eyes boring into hers.

"Well, I mean. Gone seven years with no contact, save for wedding presents she sent, I just… What if she came back? I'm truly curious to know how you would all react."

"To start with, we'd demand to know why she was so awful to us all the second she got to Hogwarts." Percy started incredulously.

"Have you any idea how much of a breakdown Mum had those first few Christmases when her jumper would be returned to her completely destroyed?" Bill asked.

Harry started at that. The first _few_ Christmases? The first one he understood, but the second? Ginny wouldn't have done that.

Molly and Arthur came back out of the kitchen. Molly's eyes were a little red, Arthur's face was set. Everyone got a little overly enthusiastic about the pudding then. What every one of the adults had forgotten, was that the thing about kids was that they didn't quite have the understanding, or decorum that came with age.

Victoire hopped down from her chair and went to give her grandmum a hug. "Are you still debistated over the destroyed jumpers?" She asked Molly.

Everyone winced.

Molly looked confused at her eldest grandchild a moment, then understanding dawned as she took in the expressions on all of the others at the table. She looked back down at Victoire and cupped her cheek, giving her a kiss on the forehead before she stood again and went back into the house.

"Why?" Was the only question Arthur had for the table. He looked quite angry at the lot of them.

"It's my fault." Hermione fessed up. "I couldn't help but wonder what would happen if, if Ginny came back."

"As in, if she showed up tomorrow and had a very good reason for breaking her mothers heart? For being so horrible to her brothers at school. For prostituting herself out to buy clothes. For attacking Ron unprovoked and nearly burning down the house. Or how about for not speaking to _any_ of us after the Battle of Hogwarts, and then running away?" He demanded angrily.

Hermione was almost in tears. Arthur had never spoken to her like that, in that tone, before. "Yes Hermione. If she had a good excuse for _any_ of that, then I would love it if she would show-up and fill us in." He spat before he rose from his chair and went into the house after his wife.

They all sat there in silence for a few minutes. Victoire had wandered back over to her mother. Harry didn't know all of the answers to what the reasons had been, but he knew that there _must_ have been ones. He knew for damn sure she'd never prostituted herself out.

"I think I should go." Hermione stood up and wiped a tear from her cheek. "I'm sorry." She told the table and looked back at the house. "I'll apologize to them a little later, once they've-" She swallowed and didn't finish her sentence. Ron stood too.

"I'll go with you." Harry also stood up. Fleur and Audrey jumped up to start celaring the dishes, pulling Victoire in to help too so the remaining Weasley boys could talk. The Golden Trio walked silently up the path past the Anti-Apparation wards.

"Back to ours?" Ron offered. Harry nodded. His other option would be to go to his empty flat and hope that Ginny would appear at some point.

Ron went to the kitchen as soon as they got to their flat and grabbed two beers and poured Hermione a glass of wine.

"That went terribly." Hermione said accepting the glass. Ron and Harry just nodded and sank into the sofa. "Do you know?" She asked. The two Auror's looked up from the bottles clutched in their hands. "Why she did those things? I mean, we all know what she's been doing since she left school. But what she did during."

"The prostitution thing was, was." Ron stuttered.

"I know how it started." Hermione told her husband, who was having trouble finding his words. "Before our fifth year, when I was staying in Ginny's room during a visit, your mum found some, well, some rather nice undergarments of hers in the laundry. She made some accusations right to Ginny's face. She just took it. After your mum left I asked why she didn't defend herself. She just shrugged and asked what the point would be."

"She could have done a few things to pay for them. That was just after the Triwizard Tournament." Harry said. "Could have won a bet or something. That's how the twins started their financing." At that thought he realized, if it were the case, that it meant she would have bet he'd win. That warmed him slightly, and he tried to keep the small smile off his face that was fighting it's way on.

"That bit about her attacking me." Ron said. "I've been going over it again and again since I found out she- you know. And I remembered it was after we'd been at Order Headquarters for a few weeks." He turned to Harry. "You'd just come to stay with us for the rest of the summer, and so we went back to the Burrow. Ginny had been at the Burrow for a while by herself. I could have just startled her when I went into the kitchen. She'd been, I don't know, cleaning or something."

"And almost burning down the kitchen? You think that was an accident too?" Hermione asked.

"Well, I know the inside of the kitchen was well cleaner than it usually was."

Harry remembered that day too, it was when he'd seen her knickers in the pond. The day his little crush on her went to a whole new level. "The jumpers though." He started. "If she was getting bullied by her roommates. Do you think that it might have actually been their doing? Just to torture her a bit, make it look like she had no presents Christmas morning?" He asked his two best mates.

They both thought on it. "She really didn't have any friends in school, did she." Hermione said sadly.

"We don't know if she has any now either." Ron pointed out.

Harry bit his tongue then. He knew she had friends. A lot of them. Good one's too. Bridgett seemed like she'd take a bullet for her, and the one's she'd met in all of her travels must have like her plenty to teach her all of the activities in their off time that they had. It had sounded like she had more true friends than the three of them combined.

What all of this discussion had boiled down to was that if she was able to tell her family what had happened, they'd be overjoyed to take her back into their lives. That was a big 'if'. He'd been the first person she'd told about the Diary.

Harry finished off his beer and left to go to his place. It had been awkward to think of a way to approach Ginny's family about their feelings in regard to her, it was even more awkward to try and broach the subject with Ginny. How would she react if she knew what had happened at lunch? Would she even tell him the answers to those questions her father had brought up?

Harry wandered aimlessly around his apartment for a few hours, trying to distract himself from anything and everything before he just got too restless and headed for the gym at the DMLE.

Auror Hall was the only other using it at the time. They locked eyes for only a second, then studiously ignored each other until Hall left.

He ran, lifted weights, threw hexes and curses at the practice dummy. He was still a little agitated after he'd showered.

Going back to his flat did not seem appealing. It was close to dinner time now, he decided to just give up and try his chances by heading to Ginny's flat. If she wasn't there, maybe he could find out from Bridgette where she might be.

Standing outside her flat, he ran the buzzer. He noticed a head pop out of a window above him, but they pulled back by the time he looked up and then the door buzzed open. Harry went in and climbed the stairs, finding the door to the flat propped open, so he let himself in.

"Heyya." He heard in the direction of the sitting room.

"Hey." He walked in.

Bridgette and Chantal were the only two there. They were wearing bath robes and had mirrors and make-up kits spread all over the table.

"Going out tonight?" He asked.

"Working." Bridgette smiled. "Ginny isn't here."

"Ah." He said, standing awkwardly at the door. "I. We didn't actually discuss a plan to meet up after my thing today. I thought I'd just- check." Bridgette and Chantal smirked at his discomfort. Bridgette then pulled out her mobile and started punching in numbers. "Oh! You don't have to-" He started.

She held up her hand to stop him talking. "Hey babe. You coming back before we head out later?" She hummed and nodded as she listened. "No. It's just that there's this dashing man here for you looking rather adorable." Harry damned himself for blushing. "Ginny?" She paused, apparently Ginny hadn't responded. "Okay." She nodded. "Alright, bye." Bridgett clicked off her phone and stared at it a moment before turning to him. "She'll be along shortly." She told him, looking less amused than she had before the call.

Chantal looked back and forth between the two of them. "You like her right?"

Harry was surprised by the question. "Yes. Of course."

"How much?" Bridgett narrowed her eyes at him.

Harry's shoulders sagged and he took up on their day bed that they had in lieu of a sofa. "Way more than I probably should, considering." He replied glumly.

"Considering she's to be off again in about a week?" Chantal asked him. He nodded. "She told you where she'd going once her papers come through?"

He suppressed the confusion brought about at the mention of 'papers'. She would have had to give them a Muggle reason for coming back to her homeland for only a month. She shook his head 'no.' "New Zealand again probably."

"She really likes you too you know. That much was obvious from her expression this morning."

He brightened up at that. "Really?"

They both grinned at him. "She was just shy of gushing about your date in Brighton yesterday." That warmed him considerably. The girls switched to talking about pop culture that he couldn't follow, and he picked up a Metro paper to keep him occupied.

Ginny arrived about twenty minutes after Bridgette's call. She said hello to the girls, pausing to throw Harry a weary look and moved on to put some groceries on the small kitchen counter before coming back to stand in front of Harry. Her face was fairly devoid of emotion. She held her hand out to pull him off the day bed. He took it and she pulled him into her bedroom, closing the door.

"Are you okay?" He asked quietly. "Should I not have come here?" He worried. Bridgette had clearly thought something was off.

Her eyes went wide. "No. No, sorry. I'm just being weird." She sighed and climbed on the bed. "It's just that- I imagine Hermione or Ron would have said something about me at lunch to everyone, and I do and don't want to hear about it."

Harry sagged with relief, grateful it wasn't something to do with what was between the two of them. "Oh good. I mean, not good. But."

She smiled at him then. "You know. Sometimes I think war is just so much easier than relationships." She chuckled morosely. "I certainly have more experience with war."

"It is much more straight forward." He flopped down on the bed beside her. They both lay on their backs on the bed, feet hanging over the side. He turned to look at her. "Do you want me to be straight forward about it?"

She sighed. "After Bridgette and Chantal leave." She decided.

He felt a little more relief. The knot he hadn't noticed building up in his stomach had lessened and he let out his own sigh. "Did you say relationship?" He smiled in spite of himself.

She rolled on her side to face him with an amused expression. "That is the best way to define this."

He leaned over and kissed her in response. "Dinner plans?" He asked her.

"I did just pick up groceries." She got up off the bed. "Making naan bread pizza."

He was already starting to drool at the mention. He followed her out.

"You two good then?" Bridgette asked.

"Don't we look good?" Ginny struck a pose and asked cheekily. The other two laughed.

"I'll take that as a 'yes'." Bridgette started packing up her various make-up cases with Chantal's help.

"Staying for dinner?" Ginny asked them as she pulled food from her bags on the counter.

"Hell yes!" Chantal said eagerly, she turned to Harry. "She makes the best dishes."

"I know." He grinned. "Naan pizza sounds delicious." Both girls groaned in appreciation.

Ginny set him to work shredding cheese while she got everything else done and the four of them all chatted casually.

Bridgett and Chantal were sharing stories from the brothel that both amused and disgusted Harry. They weren't actually sexual in nature, just of the men's behavior. Right after the meal was finished the girls rushed to get dressed and head out to work while he and Ginny set about cleaning up.

"Chantal said something about you waiting on papers?"

"Oh. Yeah. They think I'm waiting on a passport renewal and travel visa, which Muggles need to move about the world." Harry was impressed. He knew she had a better working knowledge of Muggles than most magical folk he knew, but didn't realize it extended that far. "Don't look too impressed." She laughed. "The first time someone asked me about it when I moved to New Zealand I had no idea what they were on about. Had to learn that much."

"You worked in the Muggle world?"

"For a few months before starting Auror training, then a bit when I was on missions." She rang out the dish cloth and drained the sink and they moved over to the day bed. "Alright. So, hit me with it. What happened at lunch?"

He braced himself and gave it to her straight, like he said he would. "Basically, Hermione said something about your room. Your mum got upset and went into the house with your dad for a minute. Bill and Percy got mad at her, then when your parents came back out, Victoire repeated something Bill said and your mum went back into the house while your dad told Hermione off." He told her all of this quickly and with out meeting her eye.

"I expected Hermione to do something like that really."

"She said she wanted to test the waters."

"And the waters were cold."

"The waters don't _know why_ though." He pointed out. "If they did, they would be warm." He said softly.

She leaned back against the wall and stared off into the middle distance, contemplating. "I tried to tell them you know. After my first year, during the summer. But I couldn't find the words. Them my accidental magic just kept being seen as a sign of angst or rebellion, and I was just… frozen." She sighed. "I tried writing them in my second year too. But it just looked so stupid and far fetched on paper. Eventually I just gave up."

"What about the jumpers?" He asked curiously.

"The jumpers?" She asked confused.

"The Christmas jumpers." He said nudgingly.

"I assumed Tom did something awful my first Christmas at Hogwarts and I never got them after that." She frowned.

Harry shook his head. "Your dad said that 'every Christmas jumper had come back destroyed'. Meaning that they did send you one the following year too, at least. Maybe they stopped somewhere along the line, but they still sent them after your first year."

"I never saw them." Her frown deepened. "Probably my dorm mates." She said sadly. "They all hated me, I would imagine they did that just to be nasty. I didn't manage the Notice-me-not ward on my bed and desk until my fifth year."

He took in her expression and that and it hurt him. She looked resolved in her heart crushing past. It made him so sad on her behalf. "I'm so sorry that I didn't notice."

She looked up at him confused. "How could you have known?"

"I don't know. You had a Horcrux, I had a Horcrux, we were both attracted to each other. I just feel like if I'd paid more attention to you then, that things could have been so much better for you."

"That's sweet Harry, but there is no way you could have known."

"DO you want to have things bridged with your family?" He asked seriously.

She chewed her lip and nodded hesitantly. "My mentor. Well. He's more than my mentor now. He's basically family, his daughters call me Aunt Ginny. Well, he's been bugging me about it for years. He doesn't know the whole story, but I guess he could tell that I miss them a bit." She shook her head. "I wouldn't be surprised to find out he had something to do with Scrimgeour hunting me down to come and give you lot training. There are certainly more experienced Auror's."

"You've been doing a really impressive job so far." He told her. "And you really showed us what a crap job we've been doing when you_ re-introduced_ yourself."

She grinned. "Well. Destruction is much easier than keeping the peace."

"Ginny, you stuck a fire cracker in my pocket and set it off, and I didn't even look into it." He cocked an eyebrow at her.

"Yeah. You did look adorably grumbled at that too." She tapped his nose.

He leaned down and kissed her nose. "This leads us back to talking about the twins."

"Which leads into all my brothers, which leads to my parents."

"You want to tell them?"

She swallowed hard. "Not tonight."

He nodded. "Didn't think it would be." She took his hand and began absent-mindedly fiddling with his fingers. "What do you want to do right now?"

She looked over at the television. "I want to make popcorn, grab some soda's and watch a movie."

"Sounds great."

So they settled in and watched the Italian Job on the daybed and fell asleep as the credits rolled.


	11. Year Five

**Thank you to everyone that gave me positive reviews! Even the one that I had to use Google Translate for ;D**

**Chapter 10- Year Five **

**The Burrow and Hogwarts- 1995-1996**

At fifteen years and two days old Ginny was sweeping up the floor of the Burrow. Housework had been incredibly light for the past few weeks. This was because the rest of her family was at the Order of the Phoenix Headquarters, and she was not invited. It hadn't seemed like it was an easy choice for her parents to make. She'd sat at the closed door of her bedroom listening in on the conversation being held in the kitchen about whether or not to take her. The whole family had felt strongly that they needed to contribute to the upcoming war, but none felt like Ginny could be trusted.

A part of her thought she'd deserved it. On the inside she still longed to be the girl she was when she was ten, but part of her was happy that her family abandoned her at the Burrow. She could fly, pick wild flowers and hum to herself as she tidied up the rooms. Hours upon hours of solitude and peace.

But as soon as her father or mother came home at the end of the day she was back in her room. She had grown accustomed to the noticeable fact that they did not like to look at her. Stories had been spread around about her at school to this day, and she knew they made it home. Stories that she was selling her body out to the boys at schools, or offering favors, when in fact she had never even kissed a boy.

They didn't trust her; thus, she was stuck at home while the rest of the family was preparing to fight in the war. Someone had to come home to check on her every once in a while, though. And whom ever it was, she didn't want to see the distain in their eye when they looked at her.

Over the years she'd stuck to hiding out in the library at school, and had read nearly every book in there. Her grades had improved dramatically, almost to the point of what Tom had received. That placated her parents enough. And she had not gotten another detention since her first year. Chances of her becoming a prefect were still zero however after those missing first few months of first year. And she didn't exactly act like a leader amongst her peers, she acted invisible more often than not.

Actually, she was invisible more often than not.

Ginny finished sweeping up the kitchen floor and moved over to fill the sink to clean down the surfaces when she saw someone at the edge of the property through the kitchen window. It wasn't anyone she recognized.

Adrenaline shot through her. What if this was a Death Eater come to attack her family? If they found only her here would they kill her? Torture her? Take her prisoner to try and extract information?

Weren't there wards around the house to protect it?

She quickly ran back to her room to grab her wand and sunk low by the window side to see if she could get a better look at them. But they weren't in the same spot as before. She crawled over to her door and listened carefully down the stairs to see if she could hear anyone.

There was no sound except for the wind tinkling the chimes at the front entryway. She crawled up the stairs into the twin's room. They would have something in there that would cause a diversion if she needed to run away. She snuck into their room and as carefully as possible stepped over their boobie trap line. They had several jinxes in place to try and catch people unaware, should anyone be 'stupid enough' to go through their things. But Ginny knew them all.

She opened their treasure trunk and was careful to keep her thumb putting pressure on a switch under the lid to stop a firework from going off. She pocketed some Peruvian Darkness Powder and closed the lid again. She then went to their potions storage and snuck a look out the window.

Ginny could see a woman with crazy dark hair brandishing her wand. She was sure it was to reveal if the Burrow had any inhabitants or not. And she was positive she would soon have company. Pocketing a bottle of a caustic and acidic potion she found she walked downstairs. If they were coming in and knew she was there, then there was no point in hiding. She tried to steady her furiously thumping heart as she made her way back to the kitchen.

Standing in front of the stove, she put the kettle on. She also put the glass bottle of potion on a fry pan and turned the burner on low.

Then her heart stopped along with her breath as she heard the door opening behind her.

"Putting on the tea for us, are you?" Ginny shivered slightly at the cold, patronizing voice. She turned to face them.

There were three. The one dark, crazy haired woman had a deranged look in her eye. Ginny recognized her to be Bellatrix Lestrange. One of the men with her, the shorter of the two, was her husband, Rudolphus Lestrange, also escaped from Azkaban. She didn't know the third, younger, burlier man, but he looked just as terrifying as the other two.

"It is the polite thing to do." Ginny managed to get out. Her voice more of a croaking whisper.

The unknown man licked his lips at her and looked her up and down. She instantly regretted her clothing choice from that morning. After spending all year trying to hide her developing body from the other students, she was enjoying the freedom that came from being alone all the time, and threw on a short summer dress that was a little snug around her bust, as her mother had given it to her over a year ago.

"Such manners. Now why don't you answer some questions for us while we wait for the kettle?" Bellatrix smiled. Ginny wished she hadn't, clearly Azkaban had not allowed their prisoners the luxury of a tooth brush. Bellatrix had dark decaying teeth that made her look all the more malicious. "Crucio."

Before the spell hit her Ginny took note of how innocently it was said. Pain ripped through her body like a million paper cuts, and she fell to the floor in agony. It only lasted a minute.

"I love the way you make them scream." Ginny heard Rudolphus say to his wife. She hadn't realized she had screamed. She just lay there, breathing and assessing any injuries.

"I want to make her scream." The unknown man said. She could hear the lust in his voice and wanted to throw up. She'd take the Cruciatus curse again over that.

"Hold still Fabian. Girl, where is the rest of your family?"

"I don't know." Ginny whispered.

"Crucio." The pain erupted again and subsided quicker than the last time. "Now that is no way to talk to your guests is it? What do you know about the Order?"

"Nothing." It came out as a gasping sob. "No one tells me anything." She managed to say with more conviction.

"Well then, you not much use to me then, are you?" Bellatrix stood over her smirking, then turned to face her companions. "Fabian, have at her."

As Bellatrix moved away from her Ginny thought quickly about how to get away from them. The glass vial was slowly getting warmer and warmer. It should be making the potion bubble, and the glass break soon. How soon though, she wasn't sure. Should she try to fight him off of her? Or save her strength?

"Well, this is a pretty one isn't she?" Fabian grinned. Ginny closed her eyes tightly and slowly moved her hand into her pocket. She was shaking in fear, but felt him over her. His body cast a shadow over her eyes. "You still a virgin girlie? I love taking virgins."

She heard him zip down his trousers as the water in the kettle began to boil. She opened her eyes and they immediately went to his hard and very veiny cock in his hand. He was leering down at her with excitement written all over his face. Bellatrix and Rudolphus were still in the kitchen too. They'd actually sat down at the table with their backs to them, as though nothing odd was going on.

As Fabian was just leaning down to cover her body with his she heard the sound she'd been waiting for. The distinct 'tink' that glass makes just before it explodes. She couldn't control the smirk that came to her face as she heard it. She locked eyes with his and watched the confusion wash over his face.

In a second she tucked herself tight and rolled over against the stove on the floor as the potion bottle exploded, spraying the room with shards of glass and the acidic contents that instantly burned the flesh it came in contact with. She listened to their screams as the three clutched their bodies in surprise. Ginny had stayed out of the splash zone and abruptly stood. She threw the Darkness Powder at them and ran out the door.

She estimated that she would manage about a thirty second head start. She ran to the broom shed to grab a broom and took off for the woods, staying low to the ground. The only thing she had on her now was her wand.

Ginny made it to the trees and went up to a high branch with enough cover that she shouldn't be seen by them. Her head start seemed to be just the right amount of time that she needed. Sitting down on the wide branch she clutched at her heart with the hand that wasn't steadying her in the tree. Tremors ripping through her body.

From the distance she could make them out as they left the kitchen, then watched as they sent a wave of fire back at the Burrow. For all that had just happened, what sprang to her mind seeing their destruction was that she was going to be in so much shit. They apparated shortly after that.

With the damage she'd caused them she assumed they wouldn't be back immediately. So, she quickly flew back and started putting out the flames. She threw buckets of dirt on the flames after performing a flame repellent charm on the majority of the kitchens structure. Luckily it hadn't spread past that. There had already been flame repellent charms over the inside of the kitchen, but some of the siding still caught fire. It looked singed, but no more structurally unsafe than usual.

It was a miracle that they hadn't opted to use Fiendfyre, of the whole place would have gone up.

Inside the kitchen she looked around in despair. The kitchen was a mess. It was only two in the afternoon, if anyone would be coming to the Burrow that day it would be after dark. As though someone else had control of her body she assessed the damage, and made a mental list of where to start. There was too much to do to reminisce over how she had just been attacked by three Death Eaters.

She steeled herself and went to the pantry, careful to avoid the splotches of potion on the floor, and grabbed the baking soda. It would neutralize the acid so she could clean it up.

She'd already used magic once, and there hadn't been a letter from the Ministry, so one more charm couldn't hurt. Ginny tossed a cup full of the baking soda into the air and cast a North Wind charm. It spread the baking soda over the entire surface area of the kitchen. She then went to retrieve her dragon hide gloves from her trunk and changed into jeans and a long sleeve shirt, feeling the need to cover herself up for more than chemical safety purposes.

It took hours to clean up the mess. She washed all of the drapes, pulled down every one of the knick knacks from the shelves and washed all of the walls and the ceiling carefully. As she washed and scrubbed she occasionally felt a tear roll down her cheek.

After the last of the evidence drained down the sink she looked outside. It was properly dark now, and it seemed no one was going to come and check on her tonight.

She sat down and stripped off her gloves and stared at the spot on the floor by the stove. Now that she'd done as much cleaning as she was going to get done today, she allowed herself to think on it.

Ginny wondered if she would have been killed after being raped, or just tortured more until they were truly convinced that she didn't have any information. Maybe they would have kidnapped her. How long would it take for her family to figure out she was gone, or perhaps they would think she just left. Or think that she became a Death Eater herself.

Ginny couldn't stay in the house. She wouldn't be able to get any sleep there. She took a blanket and pillow from the couch and left the house to make her bed in her fathers shed. Before leaving she went and took some more supplies from the twin's room. She was going to boobie trap the door of the shed.

There were some cushions of various sizes piled in the corner of the shed. She lay them out over the floor and wrapped herself in the blanket. Hugging her pillow close she cried herself to sleep.

()()()()

The sound of the roosters crowing awoke her the next morning just before dawn broke. She'd slept terribly, with dreams of being trapped in a dark red room with no windows. Ginny now contemplated whether she would have been happier to stay there.

Robotically she made her way to the house to shower and change. Her chores over the summer had always been the same. Tend the garden, feed the animals, finish the laundry, etcetera.

She was hanging the drapes back up in the kitchen when the door burst open and as quick as possible she shot a hex towards it.

Ron was blown backwards and hit the back of his head on the door jam. "Ow! What the fuck? You crazy BITCH!"

"Ron?" Her mother rushed in and held Ron's head in her hands, examining the injury.

"I didn't" Ginny started.

"Why would you do that to your brother?" Her mother screeched at her. "How dare you attack him!"

Ginny froze standing on top of the bench on the other side of the room watching the care with which her mother cleaned and healed Ron's head. She gently helped him to the kitchen table and more of her brothers filed into the kitchen and glared at her. She couldn't help but watch the love her mother showed her youngest brother, and though back to how long ago it was the she had last received a hug.

There was a strong stinging sensation at the back of her eyes, and a tingling in her nose. Ginny ran out the door before she started to break down in front of them. They didn't let her explain. They probably wouldn't have listened to her anyways.

"Ginny, what happened to the wall?" Her father shouted after her as she ran past. She hadn't gotten around to washing and repainting the outside of the kitchen yet. She ran to the pond and wanted to scream.

Why did they have to come home? Where the fuck were they yesterday while she was under attack? She sat at the waters edge and stared at it. She was sweating in the heat, and with all the work she'd been doing. The water looked refreshing. With out putting any further thought into it she stripped down to her bra and knickers and waded in past the weeds and lay back to float.

For a moment she wondered if she drowned herself, would they be sad or annoyed that they had to deal with the body? She stared up at the clouds and tried to imagine a day that she might be happy again. Probably never here. Even if they would all shut up long enough to listen. Or if she could muster up enough courage to tell them.

A glint of something caught in her peripherals. For a second, she saw the sun reflect of the glasses of a dark mop of messy haired head. Harry seemed to be spying on her from behind a tree. She cringed thinking about how she was dressed and his full-frontal view of her from the tree he was hiding behind. It didn't concern her enough to do anything about it. She sighed and closed her eyes, her life was so fucked up.

She stayed out and away from the Burrow for as long as the light stayed in the sky. Harry had left his hiding spot behind the tree after a few minutes and she'd carried on floating for another half hour at least. Then wandered around until dark and made her way back inside.

The rest of the Burrow occupants were in the kitchen when she arrived. They all glared at her, except for Harry who blushed lightly and avoided her eye. She remained silent and walked through the room to head back up to her bed. She prayed silently that they would head back to their secret location soon.

()()()()()()()

It had been a relief to come back to Hogwarts.

Only one brother left at school that she could easily avoid. Her bed and desk in her dorm had her spells to make her dormmates forget about them, so they left her alone. Her little business of writing essays for people, which she was considering expanding to certain potions that wild and randy teenagers would generally be in need of, was back up and running.

Ginny was really good at potions. Professor Snape wasn't the best teacher, letting his smarmy annoyance and distain for 'children' shine through every lesson. But he wasn't the Potions Professor this year. He was DADA. In the first week alone with Professor Slughorn she'd come to learn new aspects of mastering potions that she hadn't even read about. Chemical compositions and marriable substances and the like. Ginny had had to pay extra close attention to what he'd said as they all brewed.

The idea of taking standard potions and tweaking them to be something a little better, or slightly different, was something she thought she might be capable of. For the first time since she was 10 she had some idea of what she might want to do after Hogwarts. As clearly a career in Quidditch was much to far fetched.

Becoming a Potions Master was something interesting, solitary, exploratory and potentially fulfilling to do with her life. Ginny started feeling better, less hollow. And her idea for what potion she would start off trying to tweak came from her dorm mates who were complaining about the taste of hangover potion.

Altering a taste might be a good place to start off. It felt so good to just bury her head in her project. She had focus now. One that didn't involve stalking rapists. And it was shaping up to be a very peaceful year.

Ginny still used her Notice-Me-Not charm in the corridor, but everyone basically ignored her in classes. She wasn't unaware of how sad it was that this was her idea of a peaceful existence. All she had wanted before coming to Hogwarts was to make a ton of friends, get on the Quidditch team- the Gryffindor Quidditch team- and have Harry Potter decide she was amazing and fall madly in love with her.

That thought actually made her laugh out loud. Luckily she was alone when that happened. She may still harbor some wistful ideas when it came to Harry Potter, and he may have noticed her when she was next to naked and thoroughly soaked floating in the pond, but there was no way.

Ginny shook her head and cringed at the memory of the last two episodes she'd had with the opposite sex. She'd had her revenge when it came to Adrian Pucey, but melting part of Fabian's face, and hopefully part of his revolting dick too, hadn't been enough.

The whole rest of the summer she'd been anticipating another surprise visit from the three Death Eaters at the Burrow, but perhaps they somehow knew that she wasn't the only one there anymore. They could have had one of their Junior Death Eaters come after her in retaliation too at school. She knew for sure that Draco Malfoy had the mark, no one in her year seemed to though.

While she waited to be attacked she just kept her head down. Even in potions she did what she could to fly under Slughorn's radar. He seemed to collect the top students and invite them all to dinner parties. She didn't care for that at all, so her potions were kept basic and passable. The same for her potions essays. She would actually write out her true essays and sell them to her fellow peers and watch as they received their Outstanding marks.

It gave her some kind of twisted pleasure watching them benefit from her insights.

Meanwhile, havoc was being wreaked beyond the grounds of the school. She couldn't hold back her curiosity, or block out the gossip of what Tom Riddle was having his followers do. Muggle's and Muggleborn's were going missing all over the countryside. People in office at the Ministry were making calls and passing laws that didn't seem right.

The later into the year it got, the worse the world around them became. It found its way into the school as well. Katie Bell was cursed with something meant for the Headmaster. And then Ron was poisoned, then saved by none other than Harry Potter himself.

That was two of her family members he'd saved, in as many years, from the brink of death. She'd wrestled with the urge to go and visit Ron in the hospital wing. He wouldn't want to see her, but she didn't know if he would even be conscious.

In the end she did go, but under her charm. She sat across the room from him for nearly three hours, and was relieved to see that aside from his slightly paler coloring, he was fine. She watched in humor as he pretended to be asleep while his girlfriend checked in on him. Then with more humor after she left and he tried to look his best and brightest for his 'friend' Hermione. Harry had been there too.

Ginny felt the urge to both laugh and growl when she learned this was all coming about because of a love potion Romilda Vane had sent Harry that Ron intercepted. Vane was some fourth year Gryffindor that had it bad for him apparently. Ginny fought the dark thought of wishing Vane had been one of Pucey and Belby's victims. At least that way she would have had a better understanding of why you shouldn't try to take someone's free will away.

Ron, it seemed, was going to be fine, and there wouldn't be any lasting damage from the poison. It did look like he was disappointed that he would still be required to do his homework, and he'd be missing playing a Quidditch game. All normal Ron behavior.

School carried on as normal right up until near the end. The night the Death Eaters came in. The night that Dumbledore's lifeless body fell from the Astronomy Tower.

Ginny had been headed up to the tower on the south side of Hogwarts, near the Divination classroom to place Blaise Zabini's final Arithmancy assignment in it's designated pick-up spot when she saw, through a window, the Headmaster's body fall. At first she thought it had just been a trick of the light. But she went closer to the window's edge and saw the twisted body on the cobblestone below, with her eyes open in horror.

Person after person came to surround the body. She heard shouts and watched as one by one every person below raised their wand in memorial. The light caused Ginny to look up into the clouds and she saw the mark of the Death Eaters.

At the time she hadn't realized the body belonged to the Headmaster. It had been too far away, and too dark for her to make out who the person was that had been killed.

In a daze she continued to her drop off location and put the assignment there, then returned to her dorm room. Each step she took through the corridors and down the stairs was on autopilot. Someone had been killed by Death Eaters at Hogwarts.

There could still be Death Eaters in the school. In Slytherin.

No.

There were most certainly Death Eaters in Slytherin.

And there was nothing she could do about it.

**AN- I had a lot of trouble with this chapter. I actually wrote the first part of it a few months ago, before I decided to do past and present chapters so you all could see what led Ginny to be the way she is in 2004. I realize nothing really happened to her at school, but I can't have some life defining moment happen every school year. She'd established a routine and figured out how to hide herself in plain sight now.**


	12. Healing

**London 2004**

Back to the daily grind.

Ginny had them all in the gym for training today. The afternoon session was about to start.

It wasn't strictly necessary for what the actual lesson would be to be in the gymnasium, but they needed the added pressure in between tasks to get some kind of feeling of the rush and urgency that these tasks would require in the field in dire situations.

One member of the mornings group threw-up during one of them, more than one walked away shaking. She didn't get any flack from them though. Most of them had been in situations where this knowledge would have made all the difference in the world.

She hadn't had training on it in basic either. Thankfully one of her partners in Johannesburg had started going though to be a healer before switching careers. She shivered at the memory. It hadn't been her first true life or death situation, but it was the first time she'd thought she just might wind up six feet under.

Ginny went through the supplies on the table. Everything that might be found on your person while you were in the field, or could easily transfigure. She went over to check her cauldron set up in the far corner of the room. A calming draught.

She wasn't a complete monster.

The morning group had all but pounced on it when she offered it up while doing the Q and A after. Even with the calming draught, she noticed a lot of them at their desks during lunch instead of actually eating when she had been headed to discuss the session with Head Auror Scrimgeour, but he was in a closed door meeting.

She'd let the groups know that work-out gear was required, and they should all have finished their breakfasts, or lunches by an hour before their session. Even though she was prepared for what was going to happen in the sessions, it was a rather disturbing thing to have to witness. She'd required some calming draught as well, and only managed a cup of soup and a slice of bread for lunch. But didn't let on to the morning group that she had been disturbed as well. That wouldn't help her credibility.

She took a deep meditative breath, readying herself to do it all over again.

Ginny heard the door open to the gymnasium and turned to see her afternoon session start to file in. Internally she was grinning at the sight of Harry in his work-out clothes again.

Brigitte had found them cuddled on the daybed this morning and gushed and teased them non stop over breakfast about what an adorable couple they were. From the rather pleased look on Harry's face while he ate his toast, that didn't bother him in the slightest. They'd been spending every evening and night together and it had been insanely enjoyable.

Their day together on Saturday had really kicked her feelings for him into high gear. This was way more than just sex. She'd never wanted to just cuddle up beside someone and fall asleep watching a movie before. He made her feel all calm, and pleased, and giddy at the same time.

As he walked towards her she saw his eyes trail up her body. It gave her the feeling that they might be getting a little acrobatic in the bedroom this evening. Or the shower.

She didn't allow her gaze to linger on him.

"Everyone to a different station please." She called to the bunch of them.

There were two rows of tables running down the middle of the gym. The last person came in and took their spot, and Ginny opened her mouth to start in when she heard the door open again and Scrimgeour walked in accompanied by two people she hadn't seen in a very long time.

"I have two more for your group." Scrimgeour told her. "They have just come off mission."

She paused for a moment, trying to suppress her shock at seeing these two faces again. She couldn't help but flash back to the last time she'd seen them, laying on the grass along the waters of the Black Lake. "And, are they rested up enough for this?" Ginny asked calmly, looking carefully at the two for signs of weary on their seemingly frozen bodies.

"Yes." The Head Auror confirmed.

"Alright then. Malfoy. Zabini. It's been a long time." Ginny nodded to them in greeting and conjured two more stations. The two men had been regarding her with surprised and assessing looks.

"They'll need to be caught up in your training sessions from last week as well." Scrimgeour told her.

She took a turn looking into their eyes. Malfoy was a silver she'd not seen on anyone else, and Zabini's deep brown held such a mixture of intensity; be it anger, humor, desire or bloodlust. She'd not looked upon these two for so long, and had to force the image of the last time the three had seen each other out of her mind.

"I think they'll manage." She said knowingly.

Scrimgeour's brow furrowed in confusion looking between the three. "You've worked with them before? I don't have any records of that."

The three Slytherin's couldn't help but smirk at each other. "Something like that." Zabini said casually.

"Don't know whether I should be more surprised to see it's you." Malfoy said quietly and nodded in greeting.

The men went to their stations and stood silently, ready to take her orders. Ginny turned back to the Head Auror. "Are you staying or going?" He hadn't sat in on any of her lessons, but had been getting fully briefed on them after the fact. She suspected he did not want to make himself look like a fool if he failed, as he had her first day there.

"I will leave you to it." He turned and left.

Ginny faced her now group of twelve.

"Today we are going to be focusing on healing."

"What? Why the work-out kit?" Ron burst out.

Ginny gave him a look worthy of the former Professor Snape. "What are the odds that I am getting to that?" Ron blushed at his outburst. Ginny felt some of her 'little sisterly' smugness while she waited until he looked properly humiliated before continuing.

"If the situation arises that you, or your partner, had a life-threatening affliction, there are some signs and symptoms that you are going to see here today that you will be shown how to treat. At least to the point that you can get them to a healer and keep them alive."

She conjured up a lifelike practice dummy. It stood at the front of all of them and she cast a bludgeoning hex at it. Most of the group winced at the horrible crack of breaking bones. "What would be the most life-threatening injury on this person?"

"Internal bleeding." Tonks called out.

"Correct. What is the first step you should take to correct this?"

"A-assess where exactly the injury is." Harry said.

"Correct." She went over to the dummy and levitated it so everyone could see what she was doing. She pressed down on the belly of the dummy and it let out a lifelike groan as she felt behind it. "Kidneys seem to be where the pain is more prevalent." She waved her wand "Resilidicto." A glow emanated from her wand to the dummy. "That aspirated the kidney. They will be in a hell of a lot of pain, but now you should be able to Apparate them with-out much more injury.

"If Anti-Apparation wards are up, mend the bones as best you can and check blood pressure every ten to thirty minutes." She rotated the dummy so that it was standing upright, facing them. Ginny went over a few different issues and how to do a quick fix, including sending a cutting curse at the dummy and set about healing the cuts. She amputated a leg and set about burning the wound to stop the bleeding. She fed it poison and quickly aspirated it's lungs.

Ginny went through a total of ten different scenarios and the quick triage solutions before she conjured dummies for each of the stations.

"What each of you are going to do now is attempt to save the dummy to the point of keeping them alive. You will have five minutes to assess and perform triage. Once this buzzer goes off." She indicated to an object on her stand at the front. "You will then have to run a lap around the gym in under four minutes."

There were a few exchanged glances.

"You will not be able to look around you to see what your neighbors are doing. Because their dummy will not have the same injuries. Every time you complete a lap your dummy will have a new injury. You will again have until the buzzer to save it. If you do not complete the triage in the allotted time, or your dummy 'dies' while you are on your lap you will have to start all over again. If you finish before the buzzer. Start your lap, and you will have that much time added to your next injury to fix. Each of you will have to successfully save your dummy ten times."

As she explained the session she had wandered down the aisle between the stations to the back, where Malfoy and Zabini were, and cast the same compulsion charm on them that was on the rest of the Auror's so they could not discuss her being The Chameleon.

"In front of you are items that would be found in your mission pack. You can, obviously, use your wand." She wandered back to the front. "Your time starts… Now."

A timer projected up from the object on the stand, counting down five minutes, and Ginny waved her wand, activating the dummies.

There were quite a few gasps as each of the Dummies suddenly took on a life-threatening ailment. Ginny hadn't stepped far enough away from Beverly's station before she was hit with some arterial spray of blood. All around them there were groans and cries, and blood. One of the Dummies was screaming in shock due to it's dismembered and heavily bleeding arm.

Tonks was the first one to have started her lap at three minutes and twenty seconds. Ginny went over to the dummy and saw that the cuts from the cutting curse were all healed, or still healing. Tonk's would have the most experience with that spell, considering her husband could easily cut himself like that every full moon. Ginny reset the dummy. The next injury would be added when Tonks returned to the table.

One by one the others started their laps. One of them did not heal the blood-filled lung, and the dummy was drowning. The buzzer count went off and three of them had not been able to save the dummies. She re-set them to have the same injuries. The others were given all new injuries.

Beverly was on her third round with the blood-filled lung when Ginny had to assist her.

"There is no way to stabilize it!" She was close to tears. "This is impossible."

"No it isn't. You can figure this out." Ginny told her in a determined, but calm voice.

"No! There is no way to take care of this in the field."

Ginny took up the pen on the table, bit off the nub on the end and popped the ink portion out. She cut a small slit in the skin at the side of the dummy and jammed the hollow plastic tube in. The blood drained out of the lung and onto the floor as the dummy gasped in a breath.

"Who would be able to do that?!" Beverly exclaimed loudly in near hysterics. "If this were real, no one would be able to do that!"

"If your partner were dying from this right in front of your eyes, you better be able to do this." Ginny told her, feeling slightly angry at the idea that this 'fully trained Auror' would freeze up over a situation like this.

"No one could do that for real!" She was staring down at the dummy shaking and completely perplexed.

Ginny grabbed Beverly's hand and pulled up her own shirt to place the woman's finger on a small scar on her side, between her ribs. "You do what has to be done or your partner will die." She told her through clenched teeth. Beverly's eyes went wide, and she managed a large gulp of air. "Run your lap." She let go of her hand and lowered her shirt.

The others had turned their attention to the two of them to watch the interaction. "You aren't all done yet. Get back to work." Ginny barked at them.

Tonks, Malfoy, Zabini and Harry all managed to fix up their dummies and run their laps with-out having to do a do-over. They were the only ones. Ron only killed one of his dummies. Beverly was the only one that had a melt-down, but she was getting through her next tasks fairly well, looking rather flushed over her outburst.

Ginny banished the dummies of the completed persons and set a cup of the calming draught on their clean stations where they patiently, and quietly, waited for the others. Some were clutching their cups and staring off into the middle distance, some had their heads rested on their crossed arms on the table.

A a half four after the first person finished, Beverly was handed the calming draught.

Ginny took her place at the front, sitting down on her table and taking a deep breath. "Any questions?'

A few of them looked like they wanted to ask something personal. Probably about which of the injuries she'd had to heal, or had experienced herself, but thought better of it.

"Did you have healer training?" Tonks asked.

"Not in a formal facility. I had a partner that had, and he taught me a lot of what you all just went through. Some of it I had to learn quick as the situations arose."

"Why make us run the laps?" Andrews asked.

"To get your blood pumping, to exhaust you, and to try and get you to feel the sense of urgency that you would have in the field." She waited to see if there would be more questions. "You all performed pretty well. No one threw-up this session. That was an improvement."

There was one or two half hearted snorts of amusement at that from the back.

"When did you work with Draco and Blaise?" Ron asked boldly.

She looked at him sharply, then over to the boys at the back. They didn't give any kind of indication that they were against sharing that information. She looked downwards at her hands for a moment before meeting Ron's eyes again.

"Battle of Hogwarts."

Ron looked taken aback. As did quite a few others. "But. But." He sputtered. "They were out killing Death Eaters at the Battle of Hogwarts. Everybody knows that. They swore it under Veritasirum." Everyone that wasn't the three Slytherin's looked back and forth between the two men at the back tables and the instructor at the front.

"No one asked if we were just the two of us." Malfoy shrugged.

"She was the reason we managed as many as we did." Zabini added.

"Anything more about today's lesson?" Ginny asked, then made the mistake of meeting Harry's eye. She could tell instantly he knew what that admission meant she saw. That was going to be a discussion later. "You're all dismissed." She told them. "If you can manage it, try getting some chocolate into you."

Malfoy and Zabini held back as the rest of the Auror's headed towards the change rooms. She banished the tables and the three of them went to stand in front of each other.

"Did you have a good mission?" She asked them with a hint of humor.

They ignored it.

"Been a long time Ginger." Zabini said calmly.

"We wondered what ever happened to you." Malfoy said. "Bit of a shock to find out you have been The Chameleon we've heard so many stories about."

"I've a long history of stories being said about me. I guarantee you they aren't all true." They both had the humility enough to look somewhat remorseful for a moment. "You never told anyone who it was that helped you?"

"Never. And no one asked." Zabini assured her.

"It is amazing what people don't think to ask." Ginny thought out loud.

"We've wanted to talk to you ever since then." Malfoy said.

Ginny tilted her head to the side a bit. "I can think of a few reasons why that might be."

"Fancy a drink or five tonight?" Zabini raised an eyebrow at her.

"Not in public." She nodded in agreement.

"Yours or ours?" Malfoy asked smirking.

She shook her head and looked remorsefully over to the men's showers. "Harry's." She turned back to the two of them. "He knows I was there now... From the look on his face... He should hear the story."

"We know where he lives. I'll let him know." Zabini said.

"Good." She agreed quietly. They regarded each other a moment more. "We've got a lot of reports to finish up. I suggest we get to it." She told them and they went to their change rooms. She was grateful to peal off her work out clothes. They were the same one's from the morning. The cleaning charms had only done so much to take care of all the blood they had gotten covered in.

()()()()()()()()

Ginny met Harry at the Sainsbury again. He'd arrived there first and she saw him through the storefront in the liquor aisle. He looked contemplative. She was going to need some wine for what was coming. They didn't say anything to each other as she went in and stood beside him. He didn't look angry about finding out she'd been in the forest that night, more dazed and confused.

There was a little tension between them now, they could both feel it but it wasn't permeating the air around them. As they they made their purchase and then walked through the street to his place they said nothing. He let her into his building and into his apartment. She put down the wine bottles on the kitchen counter and took off her jacket and shoes.

They stood looking at each other. She opened her mouth to say something.

"Wait." He said holding up his hand, stopping her. He quickly pulled her into his arms and kissed her. She felt him pouring all of himself into her. His lips were so thoroughly capturing her own. It was like all of the private and wonderful moments they'd shared over the past week had all been balled up into this one earth shattering kiss. The way he held her, cupped her cheek, gripped her back and pressed her body against his chest. It was all trying to say everything he felt.

"It won't make a difference." He whispered when he pulled back. "What ever I hear from you or those two tonight. It won't change anything between us. I still won't want to spend any more time apart from you while I can."

"Promise?" She whispered back with a shaky voice. She was showing him vulnerability. Something she'd long forgotten she was capable of. She hadn't had anything to lose for so long, now she did, and it was him.

They leaned their foreheads on each others. He smiled softly at her. "Promise."

"Okay then." She pulled back a little more so she could read his face properly and try to see the truth in what he'd said. "We need some dinner."

"Pasta it is." He let her go and went to the stove.

"Old reliable, eh?" She teased, trying to break the tension.

Harry shrugged. "If it isn't broke."

She went to get the wine glasses as there was a knock at the door.

"Can they apparate into the hallway?" She asked Harry.

"No, but they can unlock the door from the street." He replied with a crooked grin.

She shook her head at her stupidity and went to the front door to let the company in. "Gents." She greeted them as they walked in.

"Good, you're already here." Zabini kicked off his shoes, Malfoy followed suit and went to the kitchen.

Ginny went back to her task of getting the wine glasses.

"This is what we're drinking?" Malfoy commented, looking at the labels on the wine bottles in distaste.

"Don't tell me you're _still_ a snob?" Ginny ridiculed before the other two could say anything.

"Having good taste in drink is not being a snob." He said aristocratically.

"No, but passing judgement on a host's offerings of said drink _is_." She offered back. "Besides. Hooch is hooch." She smiled. Both Malfoy and Zabini were surprised by her attitude.

"I don't think I've ever seen you do that before." Malfoy said. "Smile."

"Yeah. I thought it might cause your face to crack or something." Zabini said. She rolled her eyes and went into one of the drawers to grab the bottle opener. "Look who just knows her way around Harry's kitchen." He observed.

She looked him dead in the eye and smirked. "I may have been here before." Harry came up beside her and raised his eyebrows. Clearly asking if they were going to inform them of their 'relationship'. She looked up at him. "Do we have any of the double smoked cheese left over from last week?"

Harry just grinned back at her and nodded, taking a glass of wine for himself.

"You two?" Malfoy was astounded. "So, you did already know about her being with us when…"

"No." Harry confirmed.

"It'd take me more than a week to tell him everything I've gotten up to in my life. And that's excluding all of the classified things." Ginny said popping the cork on the next bottle.

"It's pretty obvious you've been getting up to things that might be best left in the past." Harry agreed with her, then told the men. "We've been doing our best to try and share as the subject comes up. Otherwise it's 'don't ask, don't tell'."

"And has anyone asked if the two of you are shagging?" Zabini asked, relaxing into one of the bar stools at the island.

"No." Ginny shrugged. "Even Ron doesn't know." She gave them a pointed look.

"Why tell us?" Malfoy inquired.

"Two reasons." Ginny said. "One, you two have obviously proven that you can keep a secret. And two, we're probably going to finish these bottles tonight." She indicated to the four bottles on the counter. "It'll get more apparent as the night wears on." She gave a one shoulder shrug. She already wanted to snake her arm around Harry after two sips of wine, once she finished off two glasses she'd probably have done something much more obvious.

Malfoy relaxed a bit and nodded his head, accepting a glass of wine.

"So, besides you two hooking up, what else have we missed out on?" Zabini asked humorously.

"Jesus." Harry said, thinking back over the week that had gone by. "It's been pretty full on." Ginny grinned at him.

"Let me start with how I made my grand entrance and embarrassed the pants off of everybody." Harry groaned and rubbed a hand over his face.

"What? Even perfect Potter?" Malfoy smirked and raised an eyebrow.

"Even Greyson Scrimgeour!" Harry tried to justify his mistake.

"Yeah. It was all just so easy." She gave the two men an evil smile.

While Harry got dinner ready she regaled the Slytherin men with the tale of how she put the Auror's in their place. The both of them were shocked stupid hearing about the brothel.

"Are you shitting me?" Zabini said loudly while Harry snorted with laughter. "They watch, and can keep watching while the… while that's. But that's just so wrong!"

"Well. If you'd simply read that Muggle Studies paper you paid me to write about Muggle Technology back in your sixth year, you'd actually know something about it." She mocked him.

"That was you?! That mystery had been bugging me for years!" Zabini laughed.

"What's this?" Harry asked. "You were doing his assignments?"

"Only a few of his. I started doing essays and such for money in my third year. It's how I afforded to pay for things, and saved up enough to bail once I graduated." Ginny shrugged.

"Your third year?" Malfoy asked astounded.

"Yeah. Everyone was so distracted with the Tri-Wizard Tournament, and I figured I could at least make some money off of it from the spoiled brats I was surrounded by." She pointed to Zabini specifically.

"Fair enough. Think I paid you over 200 Galleons by the time I graduated." Zabini raised his glass to her.

"Somewhere around there, yeah." She grinned cheekily and poured herself more wine.

"But you were a year behind us." Malfoy pointed out.

"And yet, still so, so far ahead." She chuckled.

"Mate, are you honestly surprised?" Zabini indulged him. "You know what she's capable of."

"If memory serves me right. While you were busy shagging Pansy Parkinson and being an all around pompous ass, I was hiding out in abandoned classrooms or the library studying and trying to avoid everyone. It's not like I didn't have the time to do a few assignments on top of my own. And then some." She told him straight.

He snorted. "That's true."

"Finish your story about embarrassing the others." Zabini encouraged.

So Ginny launched into the story of pick pocketing Tonks and Scrimgeour. Harry blushed when she told the story of he and Ron at the joke shop. "And then no one noticed that there were, in fact, two Susan Davis' in the room when I took over the meeting."

"You'd make a great evil mastermind." Zabini laughed.

"Well, lucky for you, I've chosen to use my powers for good. So, you're all safe, don't worry."

Harry plated the food and they all dug in. Zabini and Malfoy hadn't been up to much more than missions and basic Auror business since the war ended. They'd taken a year off after, traveled a bit, shagged a lot of women in a lot of different countries, then settled down with-out settling down. They'd both moved into a flat in the city from their country manors. Different flats in the same building.

Once dinner was done, Harry set the dishes to clean themselves and Ginny brought the last bottle of wine over to the table.

"Okay. Now down to the nitty gritty." Ginny said topping up everyone's glasses. She exchanged a look with Malfoy and Zabini before they all looked to Harry.

They were all, at this point, comfortably inebriated and getting along like old friends. They'd been sharing stories and jokes as though they had been doing so for years. But as the last of the bottle emptied into Blaise's glass, they knew the time had come to tell Harry the whole truth about all that had happened at the Battle of Hogwarts.

Ginny looked into Harry's eyes. His beautiful and kind green orbs telling her again that it didn't matter. Nothing she told him would change anything between them.

"Yes." She said with a deep breath. "I saw you die."

()()()()

**AN- I know a few of you were wondering what the relationship between Blaise and Draco and Ginny was. Did they hate each other? Shag each other? (Well, you know that one didn't happen). But next chapter you will see exactly why they can get along so well, during Year Six.**

**And I've had a few reviews commenting on how eager you all are to see Ginny reconcile with her family. You can see Ginny's walls breaking down over the chapters. She is much more relaxed in the UK atmosphere, and with Harry and it has only been one week with her training at the Ministry. It just feels like longer. Super excited we are getting close to the 'past' chapters that delve into Ginny's life after Hogwarts, and how she becomes the woman she is today! They are already written, but I'm only releasing one chapter a week. Gotta build the anticipation.**


	13. Year Six

**AN- I don't own Harry Potter. I just like to play with his story**

**Hogwarts 1997-1998**

Ginny returned to Hogwarts as the last remaining Weasley for her sixth year. While she had been looking forward to the relief of family pressure that being the last remaining Weasley at Hogwarts meant, it was not supposed to have meant that Ron had disappeared with Harry Potter and Hermione Granger because the Ministry of Magic had fallen and Death Eaters were now running the school.

The last time she'd seen the Golden Trio had been at Bill's wedding.

Ginny had sat off in the far corner of the reception watching everyone enjoy the festivities and sipping on elven wine when the Patronus came to inform the lot of them seconds before the Death Eaters arrived.

Ginny hated herself for how she'd reacted.

Like a coward.

She ducked under a table and ran out into the trees at her first chance.

There had been several Auror's and Order members in attendance that were fighting. Hiding and running for cover while people risked their lives was shameful, but she'd panicked, and didn't have her wand.

She was also still fifteen at the time and had the Trace on her.

Whether the new Ministry gave a shit about that wasn't clear, but leave it to the new government to find any reason to punish the 'blood-traitors'.

She had run to the copse of trees and waited until it was over. She said nothing once returning to the group after the Death Eaters had left. The Burrow fire was being put out, and the injured were being tended to. The twins were the first to notice her and had narrowed their eyes at her and merely asked where she'd run off to.

She could do no more than point towards the wood.

The rest of the summer had been spent doing repairs to the house in silence. Her father still had to go to work, and she still had to go to school.

Hogwarts was a dark and depressing place to all now.

She'd reapplied the wards to her bed and desk and continued to disillusion herself between classes, but at the start of the year every student was forced to have an interview of sorts with the new professors and the new Headmaster.

The Carrow siblings were awful people. Snape was a ray of sunshine in comparison.

They interrogated her about her family and their affiliations. The fact that she felt dead inside, and that reflected on her face, didn't help them like her much. When she didn't provide any answers that they were looking for about the whereabouts of the Order Headquarters, or the Golden Trio, they used the Cruciatus curse on her.

It had thrown her to the ground with such intense pain through-out her entire body that she had lost all control and blacked out. She lay on the floor for a moment after coming to and struggled to lift herself back into her chair. Her throat had felt rough from the screams she hadn't heard leave her mouth.

She regarded the Carrows with the same resting bitch face and dispassionate eyes as she had before they cursed her and waited for more questions.

Snape was the one to dismiss her for her uselessness and stupidity.

He could call her whatever names he wanted, so long as it meant she could get away from those people.

After a few weeks it looked like the interview was to be an isolated incident and Ginny felt safe enough to continue doing her essay writing business, but there weren't very many interested as all the extra curriculars had been cut, and nearly half the student population was in detention more often than class.

The Restricted Section had become Ginny's new hiding spot. The number of books on truly dark spells in there had her questioning the morality of past headmasters. But they were useful none the less.

Particularly the one that described how to curve your hexes and give them a boomerang effect. They should teach that in Defense Against the Dark Arts.

Or, just the Dark Arts now as it was called.

The first week of October was when everyone went anarchic.

With out proper supervision, and the world going to shit, the boys and girls were throwing proper rules of society out the window. Drinking, drugs, sex. Basically everywhere she turned in the common room was a modern day Sodom and Gomorrah. When it spilled over into her dorm room she was done.

So, she grabbed her measly belongings and bailed. From then on she went from empty classroom to abandoned supply cupboard.

For a week she managed to make a home for herself in a disused Professors quarters before Winky arrived.

The Hogwarts elves were scared and skittish. Generally never seen outside of the kitchens. And this one was a drunk.

She'd popped into the sitting area of the private quarters as Ginny was sitting at the table by the tiny kitchen doing her Transfiguration assignment. Winky had simply blinked at her, swaying. Neither said anything before Winky simply fell back on her little bum to the floor against the old love seat by the fireplace and lay down, passing out.

Ginny had been astounded at that, but went over and lifted her onto the sofa, covering her up with a thin blanket and taking the bottle out of her hand.

Three hours later Winky had come around, sitting up she blinked at Ginny again and looked down at the blanket.

"Miss is nice to Winky?"

Ginny shrugged. "The floor is a rather uncomfortable place to lay."

Winky rocked back and forth. "The other House Elves is not talking to Winky. They is not liking her for her troubles."

"I've been in that situation myself for the last few years." Ginny commiserated.

From there on out Winky helped Ginny stay in relative safety and comfort in her suite, then moving her if she had to. And in exchange, Ginny offered Winky whatever comfort she could. A shoulder to cry on, a soft spot to pass out. Mostly Winky just sat with her while she did homework and practiced her spells and new tricks she'd learned from the Restricted Section.

()()()()()()()

Winky arrived at nearly 8pm. Ginny had been finishing her assignments and taking her dinners in her small confinement of solace. Winky had brought her food three times a day and made sure the area was still warded off. Things had gotten progressively worse over the year, that much was noticeable from her just attending class. She hadn't been down to the Slytherin Common Room since October, and it was now starting into May.

She hadn't been to the Great Hall since December, and unless she was sitting in class or in her private quarters, she was always disillusioned.

But the disillusionment charm didn't stop her from noticing all of the bruises the other students were sporting. She stood out in class as one of the few students that wasn't wearing a black eye like it was part of the uniform.

The other house students whispered around her about it being because of her being a Slytherin. The Slytherins weren't going to admit that she'd been evading them, as they had no idea how she was doing it.

But when Winky came to her at the beginning of May, it was because she had news of Harry Potter being in the castle. He was with a few members of the resistance, and they were excited about something.

Ginny knew that spelled trouble.

If she knew he was there, then it wouldn't be long before everyone else from the Order showed up. And everyone of the Death Eaters too. The castle wasn't safe.

"Winky, can you get me out of the castle?" She asked the elf, trying not to panic. She'd been trying to prepare for this mentally. Her heart just needed to calm the fuck down.

"I can gets you to the greenhouse. I is not allowed to go past that." Winky said, twisting her ear in worry.

Ginny held her hand out to take the elf's. A quiet 'pop' later and they were both outside, between the greenhouse's and the forbidden forest.

"You can't come with me, can you?" Ginny asked her. She worried about what was going to happen to her.

"No, I stays here and fights for Dobby. Good luck miss Ginnys."

Ginny leaned down quickly and kissed the elf on the cheek. "I hope I see you again."

"Be safe miss Ginnys." The elf begged of her.

"You too." The elf disappeared again and Ginny was looking down at the grass where her only friend had stood.

She didn't allow herself any time to linger. If the castle was going to get attacked, it was going to get protected as well and she needed to get on the other side of that protection. She cast her disillusionment charm and ran into the forest. Luckily she hadn't been wearing her uniform. It was too constricting, her jeans allowed her more movement. The only thing she had on her was her wand.

Ginny had long since decided that when it came time, she'd fight. But not head on like everyone else undoubtedly was going to. She'd do what she could to attack Tom's side _from_ Tom's side.

She'd been practicing her spells and reading up on wars. Sun Tsu and all that, and thought she could make a difference. She knew she was going to have to be ready to kill. Incapacitating them so they could get locked up, then freed at a later date was not going to work. They'd done that the last time around, and it was crap. Tom's side had been killing and torturing for too long to be allowed that kind of option. There were some people who just shouldn't be in this world. Tom was one of them.

Ginny still didn't know how he did it. How he possessed her, because she did know now that Voldemort was Tom Riddle, or how he kept evading death.

She ran through the forest until she was close enough to where the best point of attack might be. Then she climbed a tree and waited.

Time passed and she began to wonder if it was all going to happen that night.

The tree was uncomfortable. She wondered if it would have been better to have a broom or not.

She was starting to think about how long ago she'd had dinner when she saw them start to arrive. Not just Death Eaters, but werewolves, giants, and Dementors.

Ginny almost groaned at realizing they had Dementors, she couldn't do anything about the Dementors. She'd never been able to cast a Patronus, and even if she could it would give away her location. Unhappy thoughts didn't attract them so they shouldn't be interested in her, or give away her location, but she was getting cold.

A voice rang out, it sounded like it was in her head.

'_I know that you are preparing to fight. Your efforts are futile. You cannot fight me. I do not want to kill you. I have great respect for the teachers at Hogwarts. I do not want to spill magical blood. Give me Harry Potter, and they shall not be harmed. Give me Harry Potter and I shall leave the school untouched. Give me Harry Potter and you will be rewarded. You have until midnight."_

'Midnight?' She thought. 'Could it be near that time already?' She looked to her left and saw a large group headed towards the west side of the school. Curious, she carefully climbed down to follow behind them.

They came to a stop by the Wooden Bridge. Looking carefully from her vantage point she saw several members of Dumbledore's Army near the Hogwarts side of the bridge. 'They're going to blow it up.' She just knew. So, if she could get behind them all on this side, then she could give this group a little 'push' so they'd all be on the bridge when it fell.

She snuck around to where she could effect the largest number of people and cast a compulsion charm on the crowd. Making them all want to rush the bridge at the same time. She watched as they all pushed forward and as the bridge blew in the middle and began crumbling down, half the group fell to their death. The remainder fought off her charm and were starting to retreat, but then they almost flew backwards and down into the craggy ravine.

Ginny ducked down into a crouch and looked all around her. She was not alone in the assault from this angle. Squinting behind her she saw Blaise Zabini. He was back against a tree. Nearly impossible to notice with his dark clothes, dark skin and the midnight sky standing against a tree.

He was an ally.

She didn't dare move before he did, lest her movements on the ground's surface give away her location, but as the last body fell he bolted into the woods. She trailed behind him as he ran, and he was running towards Hagrid's hut.

A flash of bright blond hair caught her eye as Zabini got close to the small hut. "Potter destroyed it." Malfoy said as he caught up to Zabini. "Led him right to it. Vincent died in the room, I don't know what happened to Greg, but I shook him off easy enough."

"Good. You aren't injured? You can do this?" Zabini asked Malfoy.

"I don't have a wand."

"Here." Zabini thrust a few wands into his hand. "I summoned a bunch from the Snatchers. They all went tumbling down into the ravine."

"Had a hand in that, did you?" She could hear Malfoy smirk as he held each wand option to test for compatibility.

Zabini shook his head in confusion. "I don't think I was alone in it either. The way they were tripping over each other to get on that bridge. I think someone else cast a compulsion charm on them first."

"Hmm. Good, lets hope they don't cast one on us too." Malfoy tried a few simple spells with each of the wands. "This one will do. I'll keep a spare. You have an extra one too?" He asked hurriedly.

"Yeah."

"Alright." They both stood staring at one another, they were readying themselves.

They were fighting against Tom. She should probably be feeling some swoop of victory in her stomach right about now. No, it just filled with determined anxiety. She was going to do as much damage as she could, or die trying. That realization made her light headed for a moment. It was an all consuming thought.

Tom couldn't win. He'd destroyed her life, he wouldn't do that to anyone else. By the time she'd come out of her daze, the two boys had started heading towards the Death Eaters. She held back slightly from them.

Halfway back to where the majority of Tom's army was there was a growl and a blur of movement.

Malfoy was suddenly held up against a tree. Fenrir Greyback had him held a foot off the ground.

"Ah. Come to join us little boy?" He bared his teeth at him and glanced menacingly over towards Zabini.

"Of course." Malfoy lied. "You think I'd stay back with those bunch of blood traitors?"

Fenrir smiled, his sharp teeth glinting in the star light. Then Zabini tried to stun him. It probably would have worked on a normal wizard, but not this werewolf. Fenrir grabbed him and pressed him against the tree as well. And Ginny quickly transfigured a rock into a blade.

"Should have known you were actually a coward boy." He said to Malfoy in a growl. Then he caught the scent of something and sniffed the air. "Mmm. You boys brought me a treat."

It was her. Ginny was what he'd smelled. Unfortunately there was no way for her to make it silver, but it'd cut his jugular just fine.

She levitated it and sent it flying at him, cutting though the side of his neck and implanting itself an inch deep in the tree between Malfoy and Zabini. Blood gushed out of his neck. He dropped the two of them and fell to his knees clutching his throat. He couldn't even howl for the amount of the sticky hot fluid filling his lungs.

Malfoy grabbed the blade out of the tree and plunged it into Fenrir's heart.

"Who are you?" Zabini asked quietly into the forest.

Ginny was torn. She didn't want to reveal herself. This was safer.

"Doesn't matter." Malfoy wiped some of the blood spray off of him and took a quick look around. "Let's keep going." He tugged Zabini's sleeve.

They got closer to the Death Eaters. The group of them were all sending spells at the ward that domed around the school. 'Good' She thought. If she started picking them off one by one while they were all distracted, then they would have their defenses lowered.

Malfoy and Zabini had a different plan it seemed. The two of them started weaving though the line. She didn't follow.

One by one Ginny snuck up behind someone at the back of the crowd and whispered her gagging spell so they couldn't make a sound as she cut off their air supply. Before they could start struggling she transfigured their bodies into a dark rock.

The ward around the school fell after she'd dealt with her 27th body. She'd been keeping count.

Then the Death Eaters yelled their praise and started Apparating into the castle. That was when she saw him. Tom Riddle had been hidden from her view by the numbers before that. He had been blocked from her view before. And he looked bloody awful. Nothing like the handsome, albeit deranged and dangerous, boy he once was.

Tom didn't head to the castle though, he was letting his army take care of that. Tom was actually headed to… The Shrieking Shack? She looked from him to the rest of the crowd that had stayed. They were still launching an assault on the castle walls as he walked away from them.

Trying for a better vantage point, she climbed up a tree again.

The giants were fighting something near the main entrance. The 'bodies' were going flying with every club swing. She shook her head trying to understand what she was seeing. The bodies weren't moving right.

They were suits of armor! She realized. There weren't people in them.

Scuttling things caught her attention to the left. Through the trees and down the hill. Acromantula's. Her pretend Boggart. She didn't bother suppressing the shiver that went down her spine. They were still terrifying, her stunner wouldn't be enough to knock one of them out.

The Dementors were flying around above the school. The Quidditch pitch cast an eerie glow over the whole of the grounds as it erupted in flames.

One deep breath. That was all she would allow herself before attempting to take out the attackers blasting at the walls. She'd been working for weeks on curving her spells. In instances like this, she didn't need anyone knowing where the spells were coming from. It wouldn't be as accurate, but a strong blasting hex should have a good radius on it.

She took aim out to her side to start casing the hexes at the Death Eaters in front of her. It worked. Several people at a time were severely injured or mortally wounded. None of the bystanders were looking behind them for the source of the fallen, they were all looking to the castle.

Fifteen more had fallen by her own wand by the time Tom reappeared from the shack. He heard the voice again.

"_You have one hour. Dispose of you dead with dignity. Treat your injured."_

An armistice.

She had an hour to continue dwindling their numbers before the attacks continued.

'Are you kidding me? What is he playing at?' She thought angrily. 'Coming in here in a reign of terror, and now what? Is it tea time? They didn't have a shitter nice enough at the Shrieking Shack?' She scowled at him from her perch.

She waited to see where the Death Eaters were going to go. They all retreated into the forest. Now she came down from her perch and followed behind them. In the process she bumped into something invisible, like she was. Startled she grabbed for whatever it was.

It was a person. They grappled together, each remaining conspicuously silent in their physical assault on each other as they tussled to the ground. This person was bigger and stronger than she was. His movements halted as they had the upper hand, pinning her to the earth. They were alone so far as she could tell.

"Who are you?" Came the snobbish aristocratic voice that could belong to only one person.

She relaxed. "Good. It's you, and you've learned to disillusion yourself finally. Where's Zabini?" She asked.

There was hesitation. She took advantage of his faltering and flipped them so that she had the advantage. He groaned as she dug her knee into his thigh. "Promise I won't take you like I did Greyback if you stay out of my way." She whispered.

"Finite." Came a deep voice to her right. She felt the tingling sensation start at the top of her head. The familiar feeling of her disillusionment charm being removed.

"Weaslette?" Both of them whispered in shock.

"Hello boys." She said evenly. "Can't stay to chat. Got a lot to do right now." She got off of Malfoy and went to cast the charm on herself again.

"Wait." Zabini said and removed his charm so she could see him. "Was that you at the bridge too?"

She didn't reply. She just locked eyes with him, he knew the answer already.

"How have you managed this so far?" Malfoy asked, astounded but trying not to let his voice portray it, and removed his charm too.

Ginny cast a look to where the Death Eaters had all retreated, they had gotten quite a way away. "I've spent the last five years working at staying invisible. The bigger the crowd, the easier." She snipped at them. "Now, this has been lovely, but I have more Death Eaters to take care of."

Malfoy put his hand on her arm. "By 'take care of' you mean…" His silver pools were amplified by the blazing fire behind her at the Quidditch pitch. Again, she didn't answer him. "My parents."

"I would have remembered that hair." She relented at the worry in his eyes. "I haven't seen them."

"Looks like we're all doing the same thing." Zabini stepped forward. "You probably saved our lives earlier. Will you work with us now?"

She clenched her jaw. Working as a team could be a bad idea, but it brought her some odd sense of comfort to know she might not have to do this alone. Standing up she explained her tactic. "I've been taking out those that stand at the back. One by one and transfiguring them so their body won't be seen. Stay at the back in case any curses or hexes need to be cast into the group. Once we get there, we spread out. Do not slow down. You can join me if you want, but this is what I'm doing." She stepped back from them and started jogging, then cast her charm in her movements.

She heard the two boys coming in behind her. As they approached the group of Death Eaters in the bowels of the forest she took a stick from the ground and drew a line in the dirt along her side, the line slowing with her. She stopped when she saw two giants guarding an entrance. Malfoy and Zabini had followed her movement with the stick, and saw the final line indicating they stop there. She felt them at either side of her. One of them got the stick form her and drew an arrow off to the right side of where the giants were standing.

The three of them headed around the giants and searched for another way into the area housing the Death Eaters. "This is the Acromantula Colony." She whispered just above a breath.

"Do you see any?" Malfoy asked.

"No." Zabini replied.

Ginny searched as best she could in the odd light. "No."

"We're going to have to crawl to get in there." Zabini said. He found her hand and raised her arm, pointing in the direction of a small access tunnel between the tree's and webs. She found Malfoy's hand on the other side and did the same.

Zabini moved first. The ground was damp and dirty. She felt her knees sink into the muck after every movement. The space got tighter around them. The boys were wider than her and she was concerned for a moment that they all might get stuck, but the slick tunnel walls around them helped with squeezing them through.

She saw the light ahead, the tunnel started widening. She heard what sounded like Zabini had got out the other end and dropped down to the ground.

Looking through the tunnels opening, it did appear they were a good four feet off the ground. She slid out and dropped to the ground as well, then cast a silent Scorgify on herself. The disgustingness that had stuck to her clothes and hair and skin would distract her if she didn't take care of it. She felt Malfoy brush against her side as he slid down too. She cast a silent cleaning charm on him as well. He found her arm and squeezed once in appreciation.

The inside of the colony home was a wide hollow expanse. It seemed that the majority of the Death Eaters were congregated around it. There was a big bonfire burning in the middle. Tom and his snake were at the far side of the main entrance. She noticed the other Malfoy's near him. They looked defeated.

Judiciously she scanned the outer most ring of the Death Eaters, searching for the most inconspicuous place to start. It would be best if the three of them went their own way around the perimeter. She patted Malfoys arm and found his hand. She brought it to his chest and pointed to their right, then to herself and pointed to the left. He squeezed her arm again in understanding. They separated.

She didn't know where Zabini was, but she didn't trip over him. Hopefully he'd moved on around to the other side. She used the same tactics as before, it was much more difficult now though. It was brighter in here, and they were closer together. Every time one of them moved around the back of the group to supposedly go and chat with someone else, she'd make her move.

Ginny had gotten three more before Yaxley and Dolohov joined the group telling all of them that 'there was no sign of him'. All the Death Eaters gauffed about what a coward 'he' was.

The 'he' obviously being Harry Potter.

Tom was nuts. He was 70 and obsessed with a 17-year-old boy. She was supposed to be the one obsessing over teenage boys, not here killing Death Eaters.

As she was trying to snag a wand from one of the female Death Eaters who was distracted by the others, Harry showed himself. She could see him perfectly from between the shoulders of the Death Eaters.

What was he thinking? He was completely surrounded, and alone.

There was a moment of pregnant pause. Everyone was completely still, waiting for some kind of face off. But Harry wasn't even drawing his wand.

There was a flash of green light hitting Harry square in the chest and he fell.

Just like that.

Wholly anti-climactic.

She felt the stinging in her eyes of tears threatening to fall. There was pressure in her sternum and it felt like her whole world was dropping around her. She had been admiring him from afar for years. Everyone had thought he would save them all. She had even given in to the little glimmer of hope that it might actually be true.

Now he was being tossed around through the air like a rag doll before crumpling on the ground again.

Lady Malfoy went to the body to check and make sure that he was gone. Ginny hastily wiped a tear off her cheek as the Death Eaters celebrated his demise. She took another Death Eater down in the ruckus. This one was more about an act of vengeance. She had gotten lucky that no one else seemed to notice his disappearance as she hadn't been overly cautious.

Hagrid stepped forward from behind Tom and scooped Harry up. The boy looked so small in the half-giants arms.

All the Death Eaters filed out in shouts of celebration. She managed to snag a few more wands from the preoccupied evil doers.

Ginny found her strength wavering too much to follow after them right away. Her legs gave out and she sank down to the ground. Of all the things she could or should be thinking about right then, her only legible thought was how nice it was that the ground here was so much less mucky than in the tunnel.

After the last of the Death Eaters left, Zabini was the first one to show himself. He was on the opposite side of the clearing. Malfoy appeared not too far away from him. She wiped her cheeks again before showing herself too. She saw the two of them share a look before they crossed to where she was.

"You okay?" Zabini asked her.

She stared into his dark eyes a moment, then to Malfoys silver ones. They both showed something she hadn't seen directed at her in a long time. Concern. Not because they were afraid of what she might do, but because of her emotions. It struck a chord in the recesses of her chest.

She took a deep breath and suppressed her emotions. "I got four of them and swiped wands from another three." She told them evenly. Not eager to discuss _feelings_.

They took her cue. "Three for me. Should have thought about taking more wands." Zabini chastised himself.

"Five." Malfoy admitted. "No wands either."

She stood up. "Just because he's dead doesn't mean it's over." She told them.

They both swallowed and shifted slightly, as if trying to shake the defeat they were feeling out of them. It looked like they needed a little more motivation to keep them moving forward and on their feet. "I know you two will be safe if Voldemort wins, but I come from a blood traitor family, and have no interest in being breeding material because of my pureblood status."

"We aren't giving up. I don't want to live in this world with that evil dictator." Malfoy said fiercely. "And Bellatrix needs to be brought down. She's a crazy half-melted cow."

That reminded Ginny of something that might perk up their spirits. "She ever admit how she, Rudolphus and Fabian wound up that way?" She didn't let herself smile when she said it, but did feel a rather sinister glow of pleasure reach the apple of her cheeks.

Their eyes went wide. "It was you?" Malfoy asked.

"They knew it was me too. Not surprised they would be reluctant to admit a barely fifteen-year-old girl got the better of three of them."

"We will never under estimate you again." Zabini shook his head with a small smile fighting it's way onto his face.

"You'll never tell anyone I was here." She ordered them. Making sure they saw she was serious.

"You don't want anyone knowing how much of a difference you've made? I know it was you that stopped a lot of the one's from blasting the side of the castle. Half of the walls would have crumbled by now if it weren't for you." Malfoy asked her astounded.

"Do you know how many lives you've saved?" Zabini asked incredulously.

"Do you know how many lives I've taken?" She countered. She'd been counting along this whole time. Not including all the one's that fell into the ravine at the bridge collapse she was at 46.

"A necessary evil." Malfoy tried to make her feel better.

She ground her teeth. "Guess I've always been called an evil something or other, may as well be the necessary kind." She threw a Reducto curse at the other side of the clearing to alleviate some of her built up anger. A tree trunk blasted apart. "Let's just go."

"We won't tell." Zabini assured her.

She saw the honesty in his eyes before she disillusioned herself again.

They ran along the forest path towards the castle. The whoops of celebration up ahead weren't hard to follow. Ginny was exhausted, hungry and in desperate need of a shower, but there was no time to try and register the extent of all that. At least she wasn't bleeding from anywhere.

They reached the out skirts of the forest and a chill sunk into her bones again. "Dementors." She said and felt the two beside her.

"Can you cast a patronus?" Malfoy asked.

She sniffed. "Of course not. When have you ever seen me so much as smile." She snarked.

"I got it." Zabini said and cast one just strong enough to create a break between the creatures.

They all ran through and followed the trail of Death Eaters that was leading to the main entrance of the castle. Tom's voice rang out again.

"_Harry Potter is dead. He was killed as he ran away, trying to save himself while you lay down-"_

"God, this twat never shuts up!" She heard chuckles from either side of her.

"_Come out of the castle now, kneel before him, and you shall be spared. Your parents and children, your brothers and sisters will live and be forgiven, and you will join me in the new world we shall build together."_

"Sounds like he is interested in the breeding material being safe." Malfoy joked.

"Hey, if it comes down to it, I think I'd like a woman that can be a little dominating." Zabini added, trying to lighten the mood more.

"Is that your version of flirting Zabini?" She hoped he couldn't hear her smiling. In all this chaos the three of them were substituting their dark foreboding for dark humor.

"Haven't seen you around enough to try my good material."

"Yeah. I guess now is as good a time as any." Malfoy joined in. "Think I'd put in a bid for you too. Because, clearly the breeders will be auctioned off to fill Voldy's coffers."

"Hey, I've got more money than you do." Zaabini retorted.

"Alright. Shh." She quieted them as her lips were twitching at their banter. They were getting too close behind the Death Eaters. They didn't want to be heard. There was a crowd of people coming out of the castle. Ginny saw several of her family members. She counted the red heads and felt overwhelming relief.

They'd all made it. Even Fleur was there. And Hermione.

She crept over to the buttresses and weaved along the spires between the people and the long drop below, loosing Malfoy and Zabini in her parkour. Neville Longbottom was stepping into the middle of the court yard to occupy the space between the two sides. He was trying to rally the rest against Voldemort, but Ginny's attention was turned behind them all.

Back towards the forest birds were flying out of the trees in the distance, and winged beasts were all headed towards the castle. She couldn't tell if they were for or against a new regime. She turned back and saw the Sorting Hat aflame on top of Longbottom's head.

"Harry. Where's Harry?" Hagrid called out, just as a "HAGGER" was roared from the trees.

Giants, Centaurs, Thestrals, and was that a Hippogryff? She turned back to the Death Eaters. Bedlam had returned. She jumped down from the wall and started firing hexes and tossing people over into the abyss behind her.

All hell had broken loose and she was hit with a spray of blood from afar. It was Voldemort's snake. Longbottom had killed it.

The Centaurs arrows started reigning down upon them and she shielded herself against the wall as the rest ran into the school. She cast hexes to incapacitate a few more of the Death Eaters, who were then trampled by the half horses. Ginny stood in a fighting stance for a full minute, not following the fight indoors.

The good side was winning.

The Death Eaters were severely dwindled in numbers, and now the magical creatures were fighting for Tom's downfall as well. Through the open doors of the castle she saw the House Elves stabbing ankles. There didn't look to be any way she could join the fray with out revealing herself or getting killed in a cross fire.

Ginny looked back over the bridge. It was empty. This whole outside area was empty of people, save for the dead that littered the ground. All the dead appeared to be wearing the dark cloaks of Death Eaters. That was good.

Her body count had gotten to 57 if she counted those that she'd hexed and were then trampled.

Her gaze kept going back and forth between the dead, and the fight. Contemplating her next move. But Ginny was done.

She turned away from the fray, taking her time, in an almost casual stroll, she walked back across the bridge and down to the Black Lake.

Before she reached the waters something happened to her body. A half sob escaped her mouth as her lungs inflated, and the sensation similar to headache relief swept across her forehead. She could breath deeply again. She was dizzy for a moment as there was a resounding cry from inside the castle. Too loud to have been from the remaining Dark followers. It was a happy cry. A victorious cry.

"I was possessed by him." She said out loud for the first time ever.

There was no one to hear it.

She felt the cry of victory emanating from the castle echo through her body before as she sat staring at the placid water of the lake feeling a moment of peace in her solitude.

()()

As the sun rose over the highland hills in the distance while she sat there, the grounds around her showed no signs of the battle that just took place, it could be any other day in early spring.

She waded into the water. It was freezing cold, but she was already numb, and no amount of cleaning spells could wash away what she'd just done.

There were now 46 rocks in the forbidden forest that she'd never be able to find that were actually the lifeless bodies of souls she'd taken. And there were numerous bodies at the bottom of the ravine. Maybe some were still alive and suffering right then.

As she dunked her head under the surface of the water she wondered if she actually was evil. She'd never thought she was, she'd just been neglected and misunderstood.

Ginny scratched at her skull under the water to try and get the dirt out of her hair. She felt remorse for what she'd done, but justified in it too. Her family had all survived, and countless others. She hoped she'd saved at least as many as she'd killed.

She waded back out of the water and cast a drying and warming spell, it brought her a little comfort. Her stomach was about to turn in on itself though.

"Brought you food."

She jumped at the sudden voice.

Malfoy removed his charm, as did Zabini beside him. She looked up at the castle. No one was about, and if they were, then the three of them were far enough away that they shouldn't be recognized.

"Thanks." She said and took the sandwich offered.

Ginny sat down beside them looking back out across the lake. They didn't say anything as they sat there finishing their food. She felt she might fall asleep where she was. It was probably safer to there than to go back up to the castle. She didn't have the strength to make it either.

One applied a warming charm to herself as the sun wasn't yet heating the ground, and she fell asleep on the grass beside the two boys. They too had laid down. As she drifted off she heard one of them cast a privacy spell.

()()()()()

**AN- And now know. There was a reason Ginny couldn't say anything about what happened to her.**

**I'm going to go ahead and dedicate this one to Comet Moon. Thanks for all of your reviews and questions/suggestions of where the story is going, and trying to figure out explanations as to why Ginny couldn't say anything about Tom Riddle and her first year. **


	14. Potions

AN- Don't own Harry Potter

When we left off, Harry had just found out about Ginny, Draco, and Blaise' roll in the Battle of Hogwarts. Ginny still refers to them as Zabini and Malfoy, Harry refers to them as Draco and Blaise.

**London 2004**

It was amazing how fast he'd become accustomed to her being there when he rolled over in the morning, and how much he loved it. Previous overnight guests he'd been entirely awkward with. Maybe they'd steal the sheets, or wrap themselves around him like a vine, breathe their awful morning breath in his face, always something. A few times he'd snuck into his guest room rather than being incredibly rude and asking them to just leave.

Besides Saturday night, when he couldn't shut his brain off after worrying about the following weekend, he'd slept brilliantly. Even when they fell asleep on the convertible bed in front of the telly he'd slept great.

After Draco and Blaise left last night his mid had been reeling from hearing the true story of what their roles were in the Battle of Hogwarts. He hadn't seen Ginny after he'd defeated Voldemort. He'd been caught up in the politics and press junkets and hiding out in gloomy Grimmauld Place. Then he'd gone to Australia with Ron and Hermione.

By the time they'd returned with her parents, Ginny had gone back to school.

Ron had said she 'wasn't talking to them'. He didn't realize that he'd been literal about that. She'd given herself a vow of silence after the battle because of all the lives she'd taken with Draco and Blaise.

Once they were alone again she'd given him these big worries eyes over what his true reaction would be to finding out she'd been a 'murderer'. He'd just marveled at how strong she was. Even in the 'us or them' situations he couldn't bring himself to take a life. Look how that turned out with Peter Pettigrew. Sirius would still be there if he'd let Sirius and Remus kill him when they'd had him in the Shrieking Shack.

As she told the story she paused with shaky breaths a few times, like she'd been reliving it. The other two had been similarly affected. But the three of them managed, all the way up until falling asleep on the shores of the Black Lake.

All the Weasleys had all thought she'd just stayed hidden in Slytherin the whole time, waiting to see who came out on top.

Harry rolled onto his side and looked at her. There was a small smile on her face as he shifted closer to her. She rolled onto her side towards him too. She'd thrown on one of his t-shirts to sleep in. They'd had several drinks last night and passed out giving each other light caresses. With the amount of liquor, and her pulling on his shirt, he knew she wasn't feeling up for more. And he'd been feeling rather along the lines of comfort over sex himself.

But today was a new day.

He shifted forward a little more to press himself against her more and wrapped an arm around her side.

"Morning." Ginny whispered.

"Mmhmm." He responded and tucked his head into her neck to kiss and nuzzle there, letting his hand travel down her back and to her bum. She hummed in approval.

Her leg came over his hip and she pressed herself closer to him still, rocking slightly against him. He groaned and put his hand under the shirt to trail up her naked side. She wasn't wearing knickers. He was already standing at attention and wiggled a bit to get his penis through the flap in his boxers.

He circled the head around her clit and she gave out a sexy moan. He gently nudged himself inside her, pushing forward a little more with every thrust and pulling out almost entirely every time. Her breath was coming ragged against his ear as he teased the pleasure out both of them.

It had only been two days since they'd last had sex, but it had still been too long.

"Harry!" She cried, and he felt her tighten around his head.

Harry pulled back from her abruptly and shoved his boxers off. She lay on her back with her legs spread for him and he drove himself deep inside her and they both let out a hiss of approval. Her fingertips gripped into his shoulder blades as she ground herself against him with every thrust. He tried to hold back his release, he wanted to get her one more time.

Not yet. Not yet. He repeated to himself.

It was hard not to focus entirely on the feeling of her hot and tight around him. But then she made this sound and it made his cock twitch with excitement. 'Please. Please. You've gotta cum soon.' He silently begged her. He couldn't hold back any more and his orgasm shot through his body like a rocket ship.

He slowed down his thrusts and she kept hers up, grinding against him as he grew softer. But she still got there.

He felt her rush of slickness join his own inside her and he grinned.

She relaxed back into the mattress with him still heavy on top of her. He made to roll off, but she tightened her hold to keep him there, and he was quite comfortable and happy to stay.

They lay there intertwined contently for several minutes until Harry almost drifted off to sleep again. Gently, she nudged him, and he rolled them onto their sides. He felt her trace a finger down his face and he opened his eyes to stare deep into her brown ones.

"You're okay?" She asked him softly, referring to the previous nights admissions.

"Yes." He answered honestly. She searched him for any hint there might be that his answer wasn't entirely truthful. "Are you okay?" He asked.

He could see she was biting the inside of her lower lip, and felt her unconsciously tracing a circle on his side with her thumb. "I know I did what I had to do at the time, and what I thought was right."

"It was right." He assured her. "You don't know how many lives you saved."

She shook her head. "I'm not entirely sure how many lives I took either."

"They chose their side." He said fiercely.

"I know. It's still. And after South… I just try not to think about it." She let out a frustrated sigh.

"You've been through a lot." He said sadly.

"Yeah." She sighed again and rolled on her back.

"I can see why you stayed away for so long."

She snorted. "Honestly, all these different opportunities just keep appearing in front of me and I was just rolling with them. I didn't stay away with intent or anything."

"And what opportunity do you think you will have after this week?" He asked quietly and cautiously, heart in his throat.

Ginny stared at him and he held her gaze.

Harry hoped she was having as much difficulty dealing with that decision as he was. "Because. I was thinking, you know, after hearing how much travelling and such that you'd done. I might… I have a lot of holiday time banked up."

He watched her carefully as her eyebrows raised slightly, her mouth relaxed in somewhat awe and then a slow grin spread across her face. "Are you saying that after one week you want to run away with me, Harry Potter?"

He blushed and felt nervous at that idea. He was sure she wasn't making fun, but what if he did want to pack it in and travel the world with her? "Do you. Would you want. I mean. You've just had all of these great experiences, and I guess I'm a little jealous."

Ginny rolled over and came to straddle his waist. "I like that suggestion very much Harry." She gave him a tender kiss.

"You don't think it's too soon?"

She chuckled. "Probably. But I don't really care." She got serious again. "I didn't have a solid plan for after I was done with the training here. I figured I'd go back to New Zealand for a bit. Maybe do a whole lot of nothing for a while."

"Retire the Chameleon for a bit?" He teased.

"Urgh." She got off of him then. "That stupid nickname has followed me everywhere." She pulled the t-shirt over her head. "Shall we continue this conversation in the shower?" She invited him.

Harry hopped up to follow her. His tub and shower were separate in his attached bathroom, and the shower was the perfect size for two people. "So, you would really be okay with me following you to New Zealand like a lost puppy?" He asked, happily stepping into the spray.

"I think it'd be kind of great." She admitted. "But, what would you tell people? That you just suddenly decided to go globe-trotting?"

"Or maybe that I'd met someone amazing and decided to follow her to the ends of the earth, until she kicks me away."

"I can't really see me kicking you away." She chuckled. He grabbed the bar soap and helped her clean up greedily. Spending extra time on her chest. "Down boy." She warned with an unconvincing grin.

()()()()()

Part of her wanted to damn Harry for telling her less than an hour ago that he wanted to run away with her.

Her!

Ginny Weasley.

She felt like a stupid school girl who's crush just told her he liked her back. But this was just huge. They needed to properly talk about it that evening, and she needed to focus.

Ginny had all the potions laid out and stations set up for each individual that would be attending the mornings session. The pewter cauldrons were all perfectly centered and the potions they would be brewing was written on the board with instructions.

As her morning session filed in she saw as each of them take a look at their station and the simple Shrinking Potion they would be required to brew.

The Shrinking potion was an incredibly easy potion to brew. It was a part of the first-year curriculum at Hogwarts, so the gauffing was justified. She smirked internally at the astounded and slightly insulted expression on the Auror's faces.

"I am sure you have all inferred what it is I am asking you to do today, so please begin and we will test each individual potion after you've finished. You have a half hour."

A few sideways glances were passed amongst co-workers before they all lit their cauldrons and began brewing.

As Ginny stood at the front overseeing them she reviewed each one in turn. The UK Auror team on the whole wasn't a large group. At its core there were only 40 plus of them, not including Junior Aurors and support staff.

Thanks to her experience with working in other countries she knew that for the population, that was fairly appropriate. New Zealand had about that many, as did Canada. Australia had double that, and the US had nearly 150, and easily 400 Junior Aurors that rarely lasted all the way through their training.

And this room of them had a pretty good age range too. Half of the original class remained. Ideally she wouldn't lose any more to 'accidents'.

She looked at Auror Hall who, while annoying and chauvinistic, did manage himself so far. He seemed to know a thing or two about potions ingredients too. She watched as he peered uncertainly at one of his ingredient, the rat spleen, and looked over to the next station to take from their supply instead. He met her eye. She gave him a slight eyebrow raise, and saw a small smirk come to his face. He'd caught on.

One of Hall's lesser attractive attributes was how cocky he was. He wouldn't share this information with the room, he would let his fellow Auror's mess up their potion using the miscellaneous sub-standard ingredients she had intentionally distributed. If his attitude was like this in the field, then that was a big problem.

She looked over to Seamus and tried not to let her smile come to her face. He had his tongue sticking out the side of his mouth in concentration as he cut up his daisy roots. He had been completely focused in each training session.

It had surprised her how good of an Auror he was. Very determined and thorough. The previous day Seamus had done very well with the different healing scenarios. He'd been methodical about it and switched gears to the fun-loving guy he was afterwards.

Auror Porppington was next down the row. She had a good head on her too, roughly ten years as a full Auror under her belt. You could see the gears turning behind her eyes when she was figuring things out. She was quick on her feet, and Ginny had watched her interacting with others outside of training. She knew how to use her classic good looks to her advantage.

Ginny took her time to go through the Auror's in front of her and catalogue their strengths and weaknesses. On her last day she planned to sit down with each of them and give a report of area's they should work on to perform better.

She planned to recommend a few of them to take the training initiative for the subjects she was going over and pass the knowledge on to those that didn't meet her requirement for the classes. There had been at least one person that excelled in each of the sessions.

Once the last of the potions was complete and transferred to a phial with the Auror's names on them, she called them forward. "How do you think you did?"

Several of them shrugged in response, or muttered 'okay'.

"Do you feel it is safe to drink?" Ginny pried.

Now several of them looked worried.

"I thought as much. Your potions should be an acid green, and only one of them is. Auror Hall, why is that?" She asked him.

Hall stood straight and haughty. "My rat spleen was going bad. I borrowed from Jones' ingredients. And I assume that you gave each of us at least one faulty ingredient in our supply."

"Oh good." Seamus relaxed. "Thought it was because I was still crap at potions." The other Auror's chuckled, they too relaxed slightly.

"That is exactly what happened." Ginny told them. "Now. I want all of you to go back to your stations and try this again. Pay careful attention to the quality of your ingredients this time. Get a second opinion if you need to, or if you think something looks funky. Being an Auror is about team work on a lot of things. I never said you couldn't talk to each other, so go back to your stations and get to it."

Ginny couldn't help but get more and more irritated seeing the smug expression on Auror Hall's face. It had bugged her for a week now, and that was six days too long. "Auror Hall. You are excused from this part, but I want you to come with me." She gestured for him to follow her to the door.

Hall, looking very pleased with himself, caught up to walk alongside her. "Can't believe I was the only one that noticed. Amature's eh?" He nudged her.

She said nothing, but clenched her jaw and led him into an empty interrogation room and sat down on one side of the table. "Sit." She commanded.

He did as asked, looking more cautionary than before. "Why do I feel like I'm about to get in trouble?" He asked with a hesitant flirtatious smile.

"Is there a particular reason you didn't let anyone else know that there might be something wrong with their ingredients until the end?"

He looked affronted. "That was the test, wasn't it? I noticed, and I passed. They didn't."

"Did I indicate to you in any way that you were to keep it to yourself and let your fellow Auror's fail?"

"… No." He said through clenched teeth, his expression darkening.

"And if you were in the field and came across a ward, would you let one of your fellow Auror's know about it, or just let them walk into it and potentially hurt, or kill themselves?"

"That is completely different! This was a training exercise."

"Yes. One where I am testing you, and not just to see if you can make a rudimentary potion. I am also making sure the 'top Auror's' have the skills and abilities to manage themselves in the field, and the ability to pass on important knowledge." She explained as plainly as she could, trying not to let her dislike for him personally to come across. "Where do you think competitiveness falls under that umbrella?"

There was an uptick of a snarl in Hall's lip for a millisecond and a dangerous flash in his eyes.

Ginny was taken aback slightly. "On a scale of one to ten, how angry are you at me right now?" She asked, cocking her head, trying to gauge exactly what type of man he was. His unwanted advances aside, his reaction to being called out in a negative fashion concerned her.

His whole demeanor had swung drastically in a matter of moments, and a few words exchanged. Understandable under a certain context, but she'd hardly said something that would make most lash out or get such a glint in their eye. He seemed now to her like the kind of person easily swayed by someone's passionate opinion and a favour, as a lot of the Death Eaters had been.

Auror Hall let out a slow breath while she surveyed him and gave her a tight, false, smile. "I'll work on it."

Ginny's eyes narrowed. Now he was telling her what he thought she wanted to hear. "I want you to take a DISC psychological test." She said outright.

His eyes widened and he glared at her. "You think I'm a psycho?!"

"No. I think you have a dominant personality, and you could do well with recognizing that in yourself, so you will know what would help you work being in a team." She said evenly.

He slapped his hands hard down on the table and his chair legs screeched back along the floor as he abruptly stood and stormed to the door. He yanked it open and strode out.

She stood slowly and felt a shiver pass through her.

While interrogating suspects was east, approaching sensitive subjects in a politically correct way made her tense and uncomfortable. She had to keep herself in check though and not show him any weakness.

She followed him out, aiming for a relaxed and casual air to her, rather than the uncomfortable knot from that confrontation that hadn't yet gone away. He was headed to Scrimgeour's office.

Did he think he was going to get her in trouble?

Her eyes wandered over to where Harry was of their own volition. It amused her to see he was glaring at Hall before he turned and met her gaze briefly and fought to keep a smile off his face.

Their exchange lasted only a moment, but it had calmed her nerves dramatically. She turned her attention fully back to Hall as he barged into the Head Auror's office.

"That uppity, frigid bitch singled me out and says I need psychological testing." Hall stated boldly and loudly before Ginny had caught up to him. There was a snort from in the office that was most certainly not from the Head Auror.

Ginny ground her teeth at Hall's description of her and entered the office to see Malfoy and Zabini seated in front of the desk. The two of them looked amused. She shut the door behind her and silenced it.

Hall was pacing, and clearly not noticing that Scrimgeour looked furious at him for his outburst, not her.

"Excuse the interruption. We're having a little interpersonal trouble, and Auror Hall is not taking my suggestions very well." Ginny said calmly.

"Frigid bitch?" Zabini's eyes twinkled with internalized laughter.

A small flush creeped up the back of Hall's neck. "His advances were unwanted. Apparently he hasn't gotten over it." She explained.

Malfoy smirked. Scrimgeour was going red with anger. Hall all but snarled at her.

"Don't worry mate." Zabini commiserated. "I asked her to marry me once. She gave me a hard 'no' too. Life moves on." Ginny rolled her eyes.

"You did?!" Scrimgeour and Hall asked at the same time.

Zabini shrugged. "She turned down Draco's proposal too."

Ginny growled at him. "Those weren't proposals. They were humorous offers for protection, which I didn't need."

"You still could have entertained the idea more." He beamed charmingly at her.

She waved her hand dismissively. "Our issue here." She turned back to Scrimgeour. "it that when I tried to calmly explain to Auror Hall that his competitiveness was not a quality ideal for an Auror and suggested the DISC psychological test, he reacted poorly."

Scrimgeour looked between the two of them. Hall at least had stopped pacing and the embarrassed flush came to his cheeks as he looked at his superior.

"Ahh." Ginny understood. "You have a problem with women! Women in charge that is."

Hall gapped at her. "I do not."

"Really? Because that flash of embarrassment you just showed to him." She pointed to the Head Auror. "That is what I was looking for in the interrogation room. But all I saw was a blind fury that you worked to cover up. But now." She gestured to the room. "Here with these three."

His pupils dilated in rage at her again, but he cast a worried glance at Scrimgeour, who did not look amused.

"I don't have time to deal with this situation. This is for Human Resources." She said to the Head Auror, jutting her thumb at Auror Hall, and left the room to head back to the session and finish up with everyone else. Hall was Scrimgeours problem now.

She stalked past Harry and Ron's desk on the way back to the training room. They both gave her inquisitive eyebrow raises. She shook her head slightly at them and rolled her eyes, earning a small smile from the two of them.

She could feel eyes on her as she crossed the bull pen and took a deep cleansing breath before entering the training room again. She saw that everyone was still working on their potions, a few consulting with the people beside them.

Ginny went to the front and waited.

Auror Hall was a misogynist. She should have caught that. It hadn't been that he was being called out. It was that she was the one doing the calling out. Ginny made a mental note to go through his file to see how he got on when teamed up with female partners.

Once everyone had finished their potions and cleaned up, they tested them out on flowers she had at the side of the room. They all worked perfectly.

"Alright. Congratulations. Now, while you may not use your potions knowledge every day, it is important to see how easily essential potions can get messed up. If anyone had tried the first batch of shrinking potions, they could have died. If the Monkshood in the Wolfsbane potion has a slight sheen of age on it then the whole potion will be useless and that is dangerous.

"In school, and in Auror training, the focus was on following the instructions, not to pay attention to the quality of the ingredients. That was the suppliers job, but you have to be accountable for yourselves, and recognize these things. Lacewing flies that are actually houseflies, rat spleen that is too aged, etcetera. Improper storage or harvesting before, or after, the plant is at its maturity will all throw the potions off."

She looked at all of their expectant faces. They were waiting for further instructions. She felt a tugging at the corner of her mouth that she fought against. "I have nothing more for you today. That was todays lesson. You'll need work out clothes again tomorrow. Meet in the gym. You're released."

"That's it for today? Really" Seamus asked relieved.

"Well I could assign you 14 inches on how to properly cultivate a Mandrake Leaf if you are so eager?" She teased with a stone-faced expression.

He made a face and shook his head before smiling at her.

()()()()()

_Having dinner/breakfast with Brigette and Chantal after work. Swing by after 6:30? Can't very well gossip about you with you in the room.- G_

Harry smiled down at the note Ginny had slipped him after his afternoon training session.

Besides having to further discuss what they'd talked about that morning, he didn't want to spend any more time apart from her than necessary. It was entirely sappy, but he just wanted to stay in bed with her all the time and hand feed her cherries. While she was naked. And go down on her.

Hmm. He hadn't done that yet. Bet she tasted good.

Bet she'd give him another blow job if he did.

"Oi!" Harry got hit in the shoulder with a rolled up Daily Prophet, bringing him out of his day dream.

He looked up at his attacker with unseeing eyes. "Huh? What?"

Ron gave him a funny look. "What are you thinking about? Said your name five times."

"Oh." He shook himself out of his stupor and checked to make sure his erection wasn't obvious. "Just, you know. These training sessions are really getting my mind going."

Ron's eyes widened slightly and he nodded, blowing out his cheeks in agreement. "Yeah. Some pretty serious stuff there. Things that we really should have thought about earlier. The Healer training yesterday for sure. I mean, like when I got splinched while we were on the run. That could easily happen again."

"You still having trouble Apparating?" Harry teased.

"Oh, shut up you tosser."

Harry snorted. "What's going on?"

"I heard back from the Department of Magical Sports, I have an interview tomorrow morning." Ron told him, tensing up his shoulders.

"Whoa. That fast, eh?"

Ron swallowed. "I'm going to ask Hermione to help me out with practicing for the interview tonight."

"Sounds like her kind of role play." Harry told him cheekily, and Ron beat him with the newspaper a few more times.

()()()()

Harry heard the buzzer sound off, letting him inside Ginny's building. It was nearing seven now, but he spent a little longer at the gym after work than usual, and ran into his friend Neville on the way through Diagon Alley and they grabbed a quick drink at the Leaky Cauldron to catch up.

Neville had been travelling quite extensively for his work. He was working with a potions manufacturer in the ingredient procurement department. Something that Harry felt he actually respected a little more today than yesterday. Neville had also been seeing Hannah Abbot, a Hufflepuff from their year, for going on two years now, and was thinking about popping the question.

Harry couldn't really share his own news, so he sat there congratulating his friend and encouraging him. He and Hannah were great together.

He climbed up the stairs to Ginny's flat two at a time, trying to make up for his tardiness, or just excited to see her outside of work again. It had been nearly 12 hours since their shower together that morning after all. And his daydream from that afternoon about feeding her cherries had been in the back of his mind since its interruption.

She opened the door as he got there. Her hair was down and she had a light sundress on. "Hi- Oh!" She started, but he'd immediately lifted her up by the legs and pinned her against the hallway wall and kissed her deeply.

Her arms came around him and she kicked the door closed with her foot. "Are we alone?" Harry asked her, pulling back from her mouth to move to her neck.

"Ah! Yes." She moaned and tilted her head to give him more access.

"Yes you like this, or yes we're alone?" He grinned, grinding his hips against her and sucking at the dip in her collar.

She rolled her hips back against his. "Both."

"Good." He ran one hand up her leg to cup her bum and groaned when he found no knickers. Cheeky girl. He gave her a little slap to her bum and carried her into her room.

"Getting right to it then?" She grinned down at him, still in his arms.

"We're getting right to something I've been wanting to do to you all day." He was rewarded with a lustful darkening of her eyes. He kneeled on the bed and lay her down as far back as he could diagonally across the mattress. She tugged at his shirt, but he stopped her and pinned her arms, kissing down her body over top of the dress.

She arched her back as he made his way down the valley between her breasts, one hand travelling up the inside of her thigh. She whimpered when his hand found her sex and he teased her opening.

His mouth found its way down her stomach to her bellybutton and he dipped one finger inside her. She was so warm and wet around his index finger, his eyes rolled back at the feeling, visualizing how good it felt that first night they spent together.

He released her hands and added another finger into her. Ginny panted and rocked back against his ministrations. Harry pulled up her dress and kissed, licked and sucked at the skin just above her pelvis. Her muscles there were spasming at the sensations he was giving her.

He looked up and saw her head was thrown back, eyes closed and mouth open. He moved lower and licked just above where his fingers were still working.

She cried out and Harry grinned, circling his tongue over her sweet spot again and again. He curled his fingers inside her as though trying to get them to press against his tongue and felt himself swell even more in his trousers as she continuously thrust against his mouth, twisting her sheets in her hands in her passion.

"Fuck! Ah! Yes." She moaned, clenching around his fingers, and coating them even more in her slickness. He removed his fingers slowly, but kept working his mouth over her lazily until she pulled at his hair.

"You are very good at that." She panted.

"Hmm. I quite enjoyed that." He kissed his way back up her body, removing the dress as he went.

"Good." She sighed. "I'm just going to close my eyes now."

He paused his movements, trying not to feel too disappointed. He was rock hard, straining against his zipper, and pressed against her thigh. He supposed he should feel proud of himself for giving her a good orgasm, but he was horny as hell.

She snickered and pulled his attention to her face. She had a grin on her and one eye on his expression. Her legs hooked around him and she pulled him the rest of the way on top of her. "I wouldn't do that to you." She kissed him.

He was so relieved she'd been teasing him. She reached between them and undid his trousers, instantly putting her hand into his boxers and grabbing his erection. He buried his face in her pillow by her neck and groaned.

She turned her head slightly and started a slow torturous kiss below his ear, kissing and licking and swirling her tongue as her hand worked him over. "Roll over." She whispered.

Harry immediately complied, and she shimmied his trousers down. They weren't even fully off before her mouth was on him. He groaned loudly at the wet heat of her mouth. She took him in as far as she could over and over again, pulled back and used her hand to pump him as she licked and played with the sensitive tip, then running her tongue along the edge of the tip.

"Oh fuck." He sighed, and his hips started flexing on their own. She took him in her mouth as far as she could go again and started the process all over.

After a few minutes he thought he was going to be in this state of Nirvana, just the other side of release, forever. And then she straddled him. She sunk down on top of him slowly and they both groaned.

She ground herself against him and he felt the familiar tightening in his balls. "If you're going to cum, do it now." He warned her.

"I want you to cum for me." She panted back. And he exploded.

()()()

Ginny walked back into her bedroom holding a plate laden with cheese, crackers and deli meats and holding a can of soda. She grinned at the sight of Harry in all his naked glory.

That had been some greeting he'd given her. And boy, was that worthy of a repeat.

He was dozing right now. She'd recovered a little faster than he had after and gone to get them a snack. He managed to take off his clothes the rest of the way and roll onto his side. She set the plate and drink down on her dresser and climbed over him, sitting up against the pillows before retrieving them.

He rolled onto his other side so he faced her and shifted toward her so their bodies were touching. He hummed in appreciation of the contact and nuzzled into her side, moving his hand to cup her breast.

She smiled and shook her head at him, taking a sip from the soda. He pulled himself up to sit back against the pillows as well and took the drink from her.

"Did you eat?" She asked as he took a sip.

"Had an appetizer at the Leaky. Ran into a friend and grabbed a beer with him before coming over. Do you remember Neville Longbottom?"

She nodded. "Sure. He was in your year. Lead the resistance group that year you were on the run."

"That's him. He's not around much. Travels for work." He helped himself to some of the plate she'd assembled. "Did you have fun gossiping about me with the girls?"

"I did. Made them wish they were straight with my stories of you." Ginny teased, running her foot up and down his leg slightly.

Harry grinned at her in response and grabbed another cracker.

"So… This morning."

"I still want to." He said immediately.

She felt a flush come to her cheeks. "Really?" She beamed.

"Really." He smiled back at her. "But. I don't think three days' notice is enough for getting things squared away with work. Or figuring out how to… tell people I'm leaving."

Her shoulders slumped at that. "As much as Bridgette and I have been getting along great, come Saturday I have to be out of here. Her other roommate is moving in."

"Come and stay at mine then." He shrugged.

She stared at him in a loss for words as he helped himself to more food. He was so nonchalant about it. "You do know you just asked me to move in with you." She clarified, in case he didn't quite realize what he had said.

He stopped chewing and his green eyes locked on hers. He didn't look shocked or panicked about it. "Ginny." He swallowed his snack. "Will you move in with me for the remainder of your time in England?" He had a smile playing about his lips, and a doe eyed expression on his face.

"Are you making fun of me?" She laughed lightly.

"Never." He shook his head, smiling full on now. "I've only just told you I want to travel the world with you for an indeterminate amount of time. Do you really think I would want you to find a different place to live until that travelling starts?" His smile faltered a bit. "Would. Would you be willing to wait an extra week or so until I get things straightened around with Scrimgeour?"

She leaned forward and kissed him. "Yes. I'll wait."

**()()()**

**AN- I've had a lot of questions about Ginny dealing with the rest of her family, and I promise you won't have to wait much longer.**

**Remember to follow or favourite the story!**


	15. New Zealand

**AN- Only doing a short 'recap' of Ginny's seventh year. **

**New Zealand- 1999- 2001**

After two months in New Zealand, Ginny found herself kind of happy. She'd found a job, she found friends in her coworkers.

They were nice to her.

Her job was as a bar back. It wasn't glamorous, but it kept her solvent, and after all the shit she'd been through the last seven years, it was pretty damn relaxing.

()()

After she'd woken up by the Black Lake the morning after the Battle of Hogwarts, as it was now called, she'd left her two fellow house mates on the shoreline and headed back up to the school. Her family had all been in the Great Hall. She'd seen them all there with the 'not dead' Harry Potter and Hermione Granger, plus a few others that she didn't recognize and felt relieved.

They all looked drained, but victorious. And alive. That was the important part. They'd all made it, and Tom Riddle was dead.

That could have been the make or break moment right then. She could have marched over there and told them that she'd had some kind of mental block on her from him since he'd possessed her when she was eleven. But then she saw all the bodies along the far wall with sheets draped over them and couldn't find her voice.

She'd been responsible for so many people dying the night before. 57 was her count by the time the creatures had joined the fight. Whether those 57 were on the dark side by choice or family obligation, some could have been there by a completely different kind of force, and she'd killed them.

Ginny didn't feel she deserved any kind of happiness right now. And she wasn't up for a fight if they didn't believe her. Everyone needed some time to come down from what had just happened. One day of silence for every person she'd ended would give everyone time to deal with... everything. Then she'd figured she could set about making things right.

But her 57 day silence stretched out all summer, and until she was back at Hogwarts. Then she was back into her routine, less the Disillusionment Charm, as there had been so few of her tormentors returning. Slytherin was at it's lowest number of members since the founding. Many had transferred to Durmstrang or Ilvermory.

No one from her family came to her graduation. She'd held out hope until the last second. Even at the drinks after, that someone might have shown up. But there was no one that had cared about her that came. There was no one that cared about her. Period.

That night she'd packed her necessary belongings and her savings and just left. Headed for the farthest place she could think of that wouldn't require her to learn another language.

She'd come across the Waikiki Beach Bum Bar after her third day of wandering aimlessly after she'd arrived in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was right on the beach north of the city. It had a great fun and relaxed atmosphere.

Ginny stopped in for a beer and the barmaid struck up a conversation with her. Apparently English people were interesting to her. She'd soused out the abridged version of Ginny finding herself there and offered her casual employment.

That casual employment turned into full time employment. All of the people that worked there, and was a frequent patron there, was so nice and inviting. Slowly Ginny let her guard down. Just a little.

She had spent the last six years feeling she was being attacked from all sides... When really it only happened a few times.

One of her coworkers, Jimbo (seriously, everyone called him Jimbo) had commented on how she needed to relax more and suggested one day that she go to 'school' with him, as it might give her an outlet.

Ginny didn't understand how taking up studies could help her relax, but she went along with him into Christchurch on Sunday morning after a month of working with him in an effort to be a 'nice friend', as she was trying to become that kind of a person, like she had been when she was ten.

Jimbo brought her into his 'lesson' beaming, because his 'school' was Circus school.

She eyed the aerial ropes and hula hoops with great trepidation, but then watched the other students with fascination. Their flexibility and swift movements were mesmerizing. She absolutely wanted to give it a go.

Then she was hitching a ride into Christchurch from Waikuku at least three times a week for aerial lessons on silks and trapeze. It was incredibly difficult, but so much fun once you got the hang of it.

Karen, the barmaid that had given her the job, had given her a place to stay too. Karen's son was a year older than Ginny and had gone off to Uni in Australia and stayed there through the winter months too. Ginny couldn't help but find herself a little fascinated with Karen as well. The way she interacted with the customers, she was like their own personal psychologist. She seemed to immediately put everyone at ease and get them talking.

Ginny learned from her.

There was repetition in the questions Karen asked the patrons, and a way she smiled and leaned on the bar even, like she was casually interested and would rather listen to them than do her work and it put people at ease. Ginny tried to copy her a few times. It was quite enjoyable to be that person she pretended to be for a few minutes here and there.

Ginny's life fell into an easy routine, a fun routine. But, as much fun as it was living with the Muggles, she missed magic. She still kept her wand on her at all times, save for her classes, there was literally no where to hide a wand in those outfits.

Before she knew it she'd had nine weeks of calm and relaxation, she was more fit than she'd ever remembered being and she had friends. The horrors from the Battle of Hogwarts still stuck with her, and popped up in her dreams, but she'd been healing mentally from the Battle slowly over her last year at Hogwarts, and coming out to this island on the other side of the world had brought her so much closer to being properly recovered.

She knew it would always stick with her, but it had gotten easier to deal with her emotions and memories from the events that transpired, the things she'd done. Seeing how little loss there had been on the light side had helped too.

The Golden Trio had pulled it off. Her own brother had been part of the downfall, and she was glad he'd made it. Despite all that had happened between them.

Hermione had been a huge factor in the downfall as well it turned out. Ginny found she held a soft spot for Hermione, ever since first seeing her frozen in the hospital bed once she'd come out of her possession. If not for Hermione's brilliance, who knows how long that Basilisk would have gone around offing people. Hermione had also treated her a little nicer than the rest of her peers. While her brothers would heckle her at any chance, Hermione would scold them.

And Harry, the one who finally brought an end to Tom. He'd never been mean to her either, he'd always just looked slightly confused at her brothers behaviors to her, and embarrassed about the way her own mother fussed over him. She'd found it an endearing quality in him. She'd fantasized so much about him as a small child that she doubted she'd ever really get over her attraction to him, as he'd grown to be quite attractive.

()()()()()()

Ginny was on her night off, having a drink with her, now not so new, friends one night late in August when her life changed again.

A few drinks in someone walked into the bar behind her, she didn't know them, but they stated loudly that there was an owl on the deck.

"I doubt it's here for me, but I'll check." She slurred to her table mates. Ignoring their confused looks she went out on the deck to check out the owl. The bird was perched on the deck rail. It was a Morepark that was indigenous to the area. It didn't have a letter, or a parcel of any kind. So she shrugged and went back into the bar.

She got back to her table. "The owl situation under control?" Jimbo teased her.

"Yep. Just a regular old owl." She nodded and picked up her drink.

Jimbo bumped into the table aggressively, he'd been pushed from behind. "Hey. Watch where you're going." He called behind him.

There was a pink shirted tanned guy in his early twenties behind him. He had his collar popped and a team of likewise dressed blokes with him as well. "Don't be in my way then." He told Jimbo flippantly.

"Hey!" Ginny had little regard for bullies, never really having done anything to her bullies through school, aside from probably offing a good deal of their relatives during the Battle. And getting those two horrible twats arrested. She wasn't going to stand by and let this prick talk to her friend like that. She got down from her bar stool and went to stand in front of the popped collared guy. "You apologize for you far sightedness and rudeness. Right now." She glared at him, swaying slightly.

The guy looked her up and down, taking note of her inebriation too no doubt. She didn't get uncomfortable like she had done in school. It'd taken her a while to get over her fears regarding relations with the opposite sex. Her fears had years of foundation under them, but in the last few weeks she'd learned how the looks she received were not of a malicious nature, but of interest and intrigue. And it was her that had the power in that situation. She felt the power now, amplified tenfold by the tequila and beer.

"I can apologize to you all night if you like, Sheila." The apparently Australian guy reached out, probably to stroke her hair, but she grabbed his fingers and twisted them back. The guy yelled out and twisted his body about to try and ease the pain emanating from his bent fingers in her hand.

"I didn't say you could touch me." Ginny told him.

"Hey!" The guys buddy stepped forward.

"Hey yourself. Butt out. Your mate here needs to learn some manners." The buddy narrowed his eyes at her and stepped forward. "I'm warning you." She threatened.

The buddy's hand snatched out towards her arm, still clutching pink shirts fingers. She brought the palm of her free hand up and got the buddy in the nose hard. He fell to his knees clutching his nose.

"Told you. How about that apology?" She looked down at the first guy.

"Ginny!" Jimbo warned. "Ginny. It's fine. I'm not hurt, you can let him go girl."

She looked up blearily at Jimbo. He seemed amused by the situation, not concerned with any wrong doing by either party. Ginny shrugged and let go of the guys fingers. He shook out his hand twice before she caught him forming a fist and swinging it her direction.

Lucky for her, his movements were pretty slow, she grabbed the empty plate off her table from their earlier appetizers and brought it up with both hands so his fist would connect with that instead of her body. She felt the impact and fell off balance and her side hit the table, but the plate didn't break.

"You were going to hit a girl!" Jimbo yelled at the guy, outraged.

The guy didn't listen though, he was thoroughly pissed and embarrassed now. Ginny grinned sloppily at him. The guy let out a cry of outrage and lunged at her. She side stepped him and caught his ankle with her foot and he fell to the ground, knocking her chair down with him. Thankfully Jimbo caught her before she fell over too.

Two more of his buddies stepped in at that point and grabbed her arms.

"What're you grabbing at me for? I'm just defending honor! He's the twat that instigated." She growled at the guy getting up from the floor.

A lot of the people at the surrounding tables had taken a few steps back. Jimbo and her other friend Steph were trying to stop the frat boys with their words. Ginny stepped hard on one of her holders sandaled feet and elbowed the other on in his chin. They both let go and Ginny went right up to the first guy.

"You ready to apologize yet? Or do I have to start fighting?" She brought up her fists as though she would actually know what to do with them properly.

The guy sneered and growled, then pulled his fist back again. Someone else intervened. One of the other patrons merely put his hand over the guys pulled back fist.

"Think you should give up bro." **(AN-pronounced** **'brew' in kiwi**) The new person said. He looked very relaxed and sober, he was roughly forty. "Don't think this one's going to give up."

"Never." Ginny nodded with a sloppy grin.

"Never is right now." Karen had come around the bar and was scowling at Ginny. "You can go cool off at the beach." She pointed to the door. "Out. Go sober up." Ginny cringed slightly and walked around the group crowded around them cleared to give her a path to the exit.

She sloughed through the sand and headed to sit on a dune. Maybe she had had a bit too much to drink. Her wand was making her shorts bunch up uncomfortably, she pulled it out from where it was and tucked to her hip. She twirled it through her fingers and idly wondered when the last time was that she'd used it. Then she heard someone approaching her from behind.

She got to her feet and spun to face the person, her wand poised for a fight. An instinct with it being in her hand already.

"Protego." The person said.

She paused in shock. It was the older guy that stopped the pink shirt guys fist. He raised his wand again, an she reacted defensively. "Stupefy."

"Impendimentia"

"Protego, Relashio."

He deflected. "Levicorpus."

She deflected. "Expelliamus."

"Expelliamus."

Her wand was still mid air between them when she launched herself at him. She lashed out kicking and punching. He did a truly excellent job of blocking. She managed one good punch that unfortunately landed on his left shoulder, not causing much more than a groan from him. Then he pinned her down and started laughing good naturedly. "You've got just the chops I'm looking for. Any interest in being an Auror?"

She froze. "You're an Auror?"

"Yep. Based in Dunedin, up here scouting actually. Didn't think I'd run into someone with your potential at the bar tonight though. English innit ya?" He let her go and sat down in the sand beside her.

"Yes." She patted off the sand on her legs and arms, sitting up too.

"Wot chu doin' all the way down heres? Thought your war was over?"

"Doesn't mean it's a particularly nice place to live for everyone."

"From how you acted back there, I'd say you was on the side that won." She just nodded. "You running away from something though?" She didn't answer, she just stared at him. He shrugged. "Any interest?"

"In being an Auror? Doesn't it matter that I'm English?"

He shrugged again. "Not too much interest in the program down here. There's still crime, but it isn't so prevalent. Much nicer jobs out there. We're not too picky. Get everyone trained up nicely anyways."

The fuzziness around her brain had faded a bit. "I had been enjoying living like a Muggle for a while."

"You could still do that when you aren't working. I do." He dug in his shorts and pulled out a card. "This is me. The info is on the other side for the trials, if you're interested."

Ginny examined the card. Jake Burke, Lead Auror. The back had a date, time and location for when the Auror interviews were. They were being held in Christchurch.

"You don't even know me."

"Yeah. But I liked what I saw. You handled those guys back there with out breaking a sweat, and if you hadn't been so drunk you'd've probably lasted longer in our duel." He handed her back her wand. "Hope I see you there Ginny." He said standing up. "We could use some people who have actually been through a war."

He left her there and walked back to the bar. Once he was gone she started to feel the cold seeping into her bones, August was the middle of the winter there, and made her way back to Karen's to sleep off the rest of her drunkenness.

()()()()()()

She went to the Auror interviews in Christchurch.

It had been a series of psychological questions, intelligence questions, basic potions skills and proficiency with a wand. That was all before she had what had been an actual interview where they asked the most important question.

"Why do you want to be an Auror?"

Mr. Burke was the one to ask her that. He was at a table with four other representatives.

"I was not well liked where I came from." She answered honestly. "I had an interaction with dark magic at a young age, and I fought back against it. I've spent the last seven years fighting against it. The war is over in the United Kingdom, but the past year hasn't broken me of the habit of looking over my shoulder. I don't think I ever will.

"I came to New Zealand for a fresh start, and to make a new way for myself. But after living like a Muggle for the last two months, and really enjoying it, I miss magic. I miss learning new magic. And I think becoming an Auror here will allow me to make a fresh start, keep fighting against those disrupting the world, and still enjoy a new way of living."

She saw a practice dummy in the corner. The adjudicators nodded politely at her answer. Ginny couldn't help throwing a little caution to the wind and casting a powerful curved hex at the dummy. She shot her arm out to her side, an angle, away from the dummy. "Diffindo." The slash across the dummy's torso hit with enough force that it rocked back to the precipice of teetering over.

"Was that a curved hex?" The stern looking blond woman on the end of the panel asked.

Ginny nodded. "I know I've got a lot to learn, but I think I have a lot to offer as well."

Lead Auror Jake Burke gave her a true smile.

()()()()()()

Auror training started September seventh at a facility on the docks of Christchurch.

From the outside it looked like a stack of Sea Cans. Inside it held dormitories, gymnasiums, practice rooms and classrooms. Ginny was glad that the training was in the town that she'd been in. Not that Apparating was difficult for her, but she was going to try to keep embracing the Muggle lifestyle she'd come to enjoy, including meeting up with her Muggle friends.

The training did require her to stay living in the dorms provided for six months. After that she'd roll with whatever opportunities presented themselves.

The interview practice tests had been difficult and draining. She'd barely made it to her bed that night, and had needed to call on Jimbo for a ride home, not thinking she'd get through Apparating with-out splinching herself.

After not using magic for two months, she wasn't so much rusty as she was just out of shape, magical energy wise. With permission she'd come in to the training centers after her other classes at the Circus school for the weeks leading up to the start of her actual training.

By the start of September she wasn't quite so drained after all of her exercises, mostly consisting of throwing cutting hexes at conjured bubbles.

Her farewell at the Waikuku Beach Bum Bar had been a pretty light and fun event. Though she'd only been there for a few months, they'd all accepted her as one of their own, which had brought up some long forgotten feelings. When Karen gave her a hug after she'd collected the last of her minuscule effects from her room, Ginny actually wanted to cry.

She promised she'd come back for a beer or two when she could, and didn't let any of her friends drive her to her new accommodations lest they wanted to help her settle into her new space.

Her dorm room was smaller than her last room. Bed, dresser, attached water closet with a standing shower. It was kind of perfect.

Ginny was only one of three girls in a group of ten. She was also the only expatriate. The New Zealander accent had been a little hard for her not to laugh at as she first heard it. Every time a local said something to her it sounded like a confused question was being asked. If the person was Maori, even more so. Now she'd grown accustomed to the slower speech and jargon to the point of not being confused when she met the first person in her training group and they greeted her in the island tongue.

"Kia ora, Pakeha." Meaning 'hello' and commenting on her fair complexion. She was a little hesitant about these witches and wizards she'd be working with, not having many good experiences to pull from in her recent history of interactions with 'her people', but this wizard looked fairly happy and harmless.

He was a bit on the husky side and could use a shave. She knew first impressions were important, and was startled with her immediate reply of 'Sweet as, bro." As she mentally kicked herself, the guy seemed to find it hilarious and leaned on the wall for support while he laughed. A combination of the tone she used and the hesitant way she said it, with the almost worried expression she knew was on her face. Saying that in her accent and it was no wonder why he was in hysterics. She sighed and shook her head at herself.

"I'm Ginny." She held out her hand.

He straightened up and took her hand smiling. "Mikaere. You can call me Mik. Everyone does."

Mik went to Mantigi School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The school was not large, and so Mik already knew everyone else in their training program and introduced her to everyone. Every one of the Mantigi alumni got along with each other. The oldest of the ten was Jacob who was 21.

Jacob had decided to give being an Auror a try after working in his dads textile shop in Oumaru the last three years while he'd spent his free time mountaineering.

That was something all of the alumni of Mantigi did. Mountaineering, bungee jumping, and less dangerous outdoor adventures like hiking and cross-country skiing. The whole lot of them were in great physical shape, and tanned. Mik, who she'd initially though was husky, was actually all muscle, he just had a heavy jumper and a wide face. Ginny had been developing more and more muscle over the last few months working on her trapeze and aerial skills, but she'd have to work harder to keep up with these guys.

She was thrown off by how jovial they all were.

That first night had been mostly about getting to know each other, so as the odd one out, they all wanted to get to know her. It was unnerving. She'd really come out of her shell working as a bar back, but after six years of trying to stay invisible and quiet, it was a hard habit to break.

She managed to get away with the basics. From England, went to Hogwarts, came to New Zealand because of the bad memories from the war. They didn't' press her too hard. She hoped they didn't' find her unfriendly in her reluctance to share, or how she had resting bitch face.

()()()

Auror Burke was the one who was mostly in charge of their training. Morning was physical training, where Ginny was holding her own as they did running and aiming exercises, as well as climbing and swimming. Then they had Concealment and Disguise class. Broke for lunch, then Stealth and Tracking followed by a potions class, followed by practicing spells, like memory charms, then a law class.

It was all exhausting. After the first week their group was down to eight. Two of them decided it was just too much.

Mik and Jacob had kept by Ginny at meals and chatted around her easily. She had to remember to join into their conversations, not just be a silent entity on the side lines. It amazed her how nice everyone was outside the training rooms. Inside they were all extremely focused and a force to be reckoned with. She admired that. It made her have to push herself physically and magically more than she ever had before.

Then the pranking started.

It was little juvenile things to start with. Salt in the sugar pots, bubble bath in the shampoo bottle, shrinking powder on her work-out kit. She learned to check everything she touched for contaminants and the like.

Then she started retaliating.

While Ginny appreciated that they were doing it all in good fun, probably in an attempt to bring her out of the wall flower demeanor she'd grown accustomed to, she felt a little malicious amusement towards these mere mortals for their efforts.

See, while she may have been at odds with her twin brothers, she had still learned from them over the years, and she was damn good at making herself invisible. Muggle tricks were the most fun. Powdered drink crystals in the shower heads had resulted in several training sessions with a few multi-colored attendees, who also smelled awful due to the clear nail polish she'd covered their soap with.

She upped the ante and snuck into Mik's room one day while he was still at dinner and put all of his belongings in exactly the same place on the ceiling with a very strong sticking charm. She'd followed Jacob around while disillusioned, feather light, and scent free blowing on his neck, tapping his shoulder and whispering his name in a disguised voice for over an hour until he was irate and jumpy.

It didn't need to be said that she was at the top of the pyramid in their Concealment and Disguise class. The rest of them got weary of pranking her when she would stun them as they were attempting to set something up to get her with, not noticing she was already in the room.

They started calling her the Chameleon, and it stuck.

()()()()

After the six months of intensive training they were finally free to go out into the world again. Carolyn, the only other female that made it through the course with her, had a spare bedroom at her place and invited Ginny to rent it out, which she accepted gratefully.

Their first day of freedom Ginny moved her belongings to Carolyn's place all the new Junior Auror's met up at a bar for a celebratory drink.

"Great to be back in the real world, eh?" Mik clapped her on the back. She clinked her beer with his in consent at that statement. "Amazing how none of us wound up hooking up with each other stuck in there. I'm definitely on the hunt for someone to root tonight." He scanned the bar for a pretty girl.

Ginny just nodded. It wasn't like that kind of thing embarrassed her, but she was a fairly attractive nineteen year-old who's closest experience with the opposite sex involved attempted rape. Though her lack of experience had nothing to do with trauma stemming from that experience, she'd just never been kissed before.

She'd read plenty of raunchy books over the years, and taken care of her own needs when her body demanded. She knew how everything worked. Since moving down she'd watched how all of her new friends had operated with their fleeting romantic interests, she'd just never participated in those types of interactions.

It hit her then that she probably should just 'rip off the band aid' as they say. So, she too started scanning the bar for someone that she might be attracted to enough to strike up that kind of interaction.

Ginny let her eyes linger on a few different guys in her age range around the bar, and kept coming back to one in particular. He was about her age, he had a nice smile, kind looking eyes, roughly an inch or two taller than her and messy black hair.

Yeah, he looked a little bit like Harry Potter.

She knew that was why she'd zeroed in on him. It didn't creep her out or anything. If some guy got a little more action because he resembled one of those television actors, did that make those girls creepy?

"Hey Mik?" Ginny called to her friend over the noise of the bar surrounding them. "What move would flatter you the most if a girl started hitting on you?"

He grinned wildly. "Who?" She inclined her head to the Potter doppelganger. "Looks like he's on the prowl too. Just go buy him a drink."

Ginny nodded and went to stand, but Mik put a hand on her shoulder. She looked back at him. "Remember to smile." She let out a laugh. She actually did need that reminder.

She went to the bar and got two bottles of Speights form the barman and went over to her target, er… interest. He was with three other guys. She was nervous, but working really hard to suppress it. There were a bunch of cheesy pick up lines going through her head, all of them incredibly corny and stupid that she'd heard a few guys and girls use while she was at Waikuku.

She decided to be a little straight forward and obvious. She had bought a drink specifically for him after all.

His eyes locked on hers as she drew close, they were brown like hers, not green. She put a little sway in her hips as she drew closer to him and remembered to smile, his eyes trailed down her frame, lingering slightly in the right places.

"Hey." She said once she was standing right in front of him. "Think you can help me out with a two problems I have?"

He gave her a curious and amused expression. "Sure." He smiled.

"I accidentally ordered an extra drink. Can you take it off my hands?"

His smile got wider and he took the beer she offered. She saw his friends observing them with interest. "What's your other problem?"

Ginny made a show of biting her lip and stepping close, like she'd seen other girls do. "It's a little embarrassing." She blushed and leaned against him, putting her lips as close to his ear to make sure he heard her. "I think I need a thorough understanding of the difference between a French and Australian kiss."

She felt him let out a puff of air on her neck and she pulled back to gauge his expression. She didn't get a chance to though, because his mouth was immediately on hers. He had a hand on her hip and pulled her right against him.

Ginny liked this feeling. It was warm and sexy and exciting. She heard some cat calls coming form his friends, and it sounded like some were coming from her friends too.

He pulled back. "David."

"Ginny." She answered breathlessly.

"Want to get out of here?"

She smirked. If he could do other things as well as he kissed, she was game to give it a go. "Yep."

Ginny winked at her friends as they passed by her table and grabbed her clutch, carefully tucking her wand into it after taking it out of her thigh holster.

Later than night she snuck out of David's bed no longer a virgin.

That had been a very nice introduction. Of course she hadn't told him she'd been a virgin. Clearly he hadn't been one. His instruction of the differences between a French an Australian kiss had been incredibly pleasurable. Her modesty had been thrown out the window with the knowledge that she had no intention of seeing him again.

Hooking up with someone because he looked like a wistful crush was one thing, trying to start a relationship with one was entirely different.

Ginny was rather deliciously sore the next day. It was her last day off before she started her actual Junior Auror position and she wanted to spend it at Circus school. She was riding a giddy high after her successful sexual encounter and felt like flying on the silks all day would be a great way to spend the day.

()()()

Duncan Winters was the name of the Auror she was assigned to shadow. He was a veteran, into his fifties. He regaled her with stories of his big cases, his dead end cases, and all the little networks of underground operations through-out the islands. He took her on quite a few surveillance jobs, but they were always just perched on rooftops, or in alleys watching the magical shops hidden between the Muggle ones. Or following suspicious characters.

The people they were watching were suspected of going to the barges that were coming form the main land and skimming supplies from Muggle shipments and doing off-sales. These off-sales were taking place in the shops they'd been scouting.

"Have you asked anyone of the Muggles in the shops if they've seen anything odd happening there?" Ginny asked Auror Winters one day when they got back to the Auror Headquarters.

"Muggles? Why would they notice anything?"

Ginny paused at that response. He was completely dismissive of the idea. "You know they find our clothes strange right? That's something they might remember. We could probably scour their newspapers and find information that is linked to our world that they just don't understand. So asking a few seemingly insignificant questions to the shop owners might show us a pattern or something."

Lead Auror Burke had been listening in and came over to interject. "You think we should go under cover as Muggle policemen or something?"

She turned to face him head on."Not even that. One of the shops across the street from the main location is a coffee place. You could just go in there and have a casual chat with the workers."

Burke nodded. "Give it a go."

Winters stood up. "How am I supposed to have a casual chat with Muggles about this?"

"Not you." Burke pointed at Ginny. "Her."

Ginny looked between the two men. This was an awkward situation. Winters wouldn't be happy about her taking the reigns for part of this. But this wasn't about making him happy. She nodded at Burke and apparated home to change out of her Auror robes and into her Muggle wear.

She went on her way to the coffee shop and stopped to get a magazine first, a trash rag as Karen had called them. It was just after lunch time and the shop was pretty empty. She ordered an iced coffee and commented on the barista's tattoos casually before sitting at one of the bar stools, where she could still see the off-sales shop across the way.

She saw one of the suspects approach the door. "He's a little over dressed for the weather." She mentioned to the girl.

"Oh yeah. I've seen a lot of over dressed people going in there. Don't know what's in there. The place has been closed up for as long as I can remember. Maybe it's one of those Dungeons and Dragons roll playing places." She shrugged.

Ginny did her best to play along, not having any idea what Dungeons and Dragons was. She started throwing crazy suggestive ideas around about it being a cult, or aliens, or some kinky sex club. She and the barista were laughing about the different theories for about twenty minutes.

By the time Ginny got back to the office she'd gotten a basic time frame of when people were going in and out, and how many plus a few physical descriptions of them too. Winter's was irritated, but more about his not thinking Muggles could be useful too.

Ginny stopped to chat with the barista a few times a week for a few minutes. She'd carry on about some Australian television show the girl had been interested in, and always end with a comment on the 'alien cult' across the road.

Three months of that and they had a solid case on who the owners of the shop were and set a few tails on them in rotating shifts. By the end they had five arrests of the actual culprits stealing from the Muggles, and ten heavy fines for the customers who knew the goods were stolen, but did nothing to report them.

All in all, a successful case, but a little boring and tedious. It did lead Burke to pulling her aside and asking her to coach some of the other Auror's on Muggles. Even the Muggleborns it seemed hadn't thought to probe the insights of the Muggles for their cases.

()()

Burke wound up taking Ginny under his wing of sorts. She didn't know if it was because he'd been the one to recruit her and wanted her to succeed, or if she was actually impressing him. But, she kept getting invites to his once a month or so for dinner with his family. He had a wife and two young daughters at home.

Ginny enjoyed these occasions. Burke's home was right in Dunedin on Baldwin Street, the steepest street in the world. All the houses on that street had started off being owned by wizard kind, but slowly over the years the Muggles started building there too, and on his days off he got a kick out of watching the Muggles run up it to the top. It seemed the thing to do after visiting the chocolate factory in town. She sat with him one such day and laughed at the runners who stopped to throw-up chocolate all over his wife's rose bushes.

Burke's daughters got to be rather taken with Ginny too She'd grabbed one of their hula hoops and showed them the skills she'd picked up from Circus school, which she still went to once or twice a week, and that made her super cool to them.

Ginny had settled very comfortably into her life in New Zealand. Exploring the country on days off with her magical friends, visiting Waikuku for a drink with her Muggle friends. She was happy for the first time in a long time.

She'd kept tabs on what was going on back in the UK too. Every now and then she'd flip through a copy of London's Daily Prophet and take note of the Harry Potter articles, or catch one of her brothers names there. She saw an announcement about Percy getting married to his girlfriend Audrey and she sent along a standard wedding present with a standard 'Congratulations' card and tried not to get upset about her family's lack of caring when it came to her whereabouts.

The intense Auror program had been six months, it weeded out anyone that couldn't cut it physically or magically. The Junior Auror program was two and half years of shadowing, assisting, and learning how to do the paperwork.

Only, one year into the Junior Auror program Ginny was called into Burke's office for what she had thought was supposed to be an annual performance review. Instead she found the Head Auror of Australia sitting with him in his office.

It seemed Australia had a circumstance that required an Auror to go under cover into a situation of which Ginevra Weasley was uniquely qualified.

With the recommendation of her current department head and her own consent it looked like Ginny was moving to Australia.

**AN- For those who don't know. A French kiss is kissing with tongue. And Australian kiss is the same thing, but 'down under' (You have to say that part with the accent. It's mandatory)**


	16. Combat Apparation

**AN- And now, what you've all been waiting for...**

()()()()()()()

The gym was occupied by a few Auror's when Ginny got there in the morning.

She'd essentially had to kick Harry out of the flat this morning. He wouldn't stop smiling and giving her kisses and making her want to take him back to bed. He'd assured her that, yes, he did remember he'd invited her to stay at his place come Saturday, and no, he didn't regret that for one second. Then he'd listed off a number of places around his flat that he had yet to 'christen'. At that she bit him adieu because she had a big day ahead of her and he was being far to much of a delicious distraction.

Combat Apparation had taken her months to learn, and she hadn't done it since before going to Puerto Rico. She had also only just mastered it before then too, now she needed to concentrate. Getting splinched or falling on her ass in front of the Auror's she was training wouldn't help her credibility. She was pretty sure she scared them well enough two days ago with the healer session though. It wasn't like she was setting out to show them up, but it did feel good to make them sweat.

She started off with a run around the track. The two people still using the gym would hopefully clear off soon. She didn't want to embarrass herself with this one, she'd done enough of that in Canada trying to get it right.

She didn't see the other two Auror's that were at the weights getting ready to leave any time soon. One of them was Hall, who was giving her a bit of the stink eye.

Ginny resigned herself to start with some simple 'jumps'. She did four while running and stopped at the sound of a crash and "Oh Fuck!" Hall seemed to have dropped a weight on his foot. She saw him clutching his foot and looking at her sheepishly and she 'jumped' over to him, just to be a smart ass.

"You okay?" He fell back onto the bench at her sudden appearance in front of him.

"Uh. Yeah." He looked embarrassed. "I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me there for a minute. I was watching you and accidentally dropped the weight on my foot."

"I thought as much." She bent down. "Did you break anything?" She helped him remove his shoe. They may have gotten into it yesterday, but she wanted to be the bigger person here. He was still on the docket to be in her training sessions. Scrimgeour had written him up for insubordination, but that didn't rule him out of the sessions in her books. And she was trying not to think of ways to harm him specifically. Though she'd inadvertently come up with a few.

"I, uh, I don't think so." He let her assist him.

She ran a quick diagnostic spell. He seemed to be fine. "Maybe just a pain potion and something for the swelling then. And you might want to sit this session out." He was in the morning group.

"No! I'm sure I'll be fine." He stood, wincing slightly and tried to bush it off, then limped away to the change room. His manner hadn't set off any warning bells with her today. Maybe his talking down yesterday by her, and then by his Head Auror had done him some good.

She looked over to the other Auror. DeRabbie, she thought his name was. He'd been excluded from the training sessions due to the incident with the coffee. "Mind helping me with something?" She asked him.

()()

At nine her session for the morning came in. Hall was still being macho and limping, but she still didn't see any glint in his eye. Seamus was looking pretty excited. Zabini and Malfoy had been transferred to this group due to its size being smaller than the afternoon session. Once they had all gathered around she told them what they'd be working on.

"How many of you have heard of Combat Apparation?" She asked.

"That's what that was called?" Hall asked.

"You saw me practicing part of it earlier, but that was a small part of it."

"What is it?" Seamus asked.

"It's easiest if show you." She told them. "Can I get a volunteer?"

"I will." Zabini stepped forward.

"Okay. Stand here." She pointed at the track. He moved over to where she directed. "Now start running."

He gave her a look.

"I'm going to start chasing him, and pay attention to what happens." Zabini took off at a jog. "I said running." She called after him. He picked up the pace and she started running after him. Then with a crack she was right in front of him in a defensive stance with just enough space between them that he didn't have time to slow down.

He gave her a surprised look before he barreled into her and she knocked him on his ass. Ginny was so relieved. She'd tried it three times with DeRabbie, but he was smaller than Zabini.

She held out her hand to help him up. They walked back to the group.

"That is what's called Combat Apparation. The Canadians have been working on it for three years. I am sure there are some other countries that know it as well. It requires you to be good at judging distances and accelerations and such. But the hardest part is making sure you are in the proper stance when you land."

"You can teach us that in a day?" Auror Porpington asked, eyes lit up.

"No. I can teach you the basics in one hour. It takes a lot of practice to master this one. We're going to start by pairing you up and you'll do 'jumps' as I call them, where you are running, Apparate, and continue running. Like so;" She rand down the track and jumped forward five feet. "It is a lot easier to do a jump when you are already in the position you want to Apparate into. You have to visualize yourself being in the spot you are jumping to already, in the stride that you are in already. Find a partner and a different spot on the track with a good distance around you. Only one of the partners can go at a time. The other one, well. There was a reason we did healer training first."

They had all started spreading out and faltered slightly at that. It wasn't uncommon when learning how to Apparate to splinch yourself. She'd done it when she was learning this, and rolled her ankle, and bruised her tail bone. She actually felt pretty sorry for the morning group, at least the afternoon group didn't still have a full day of work ahead of them after draining themselves magically and physically. Because this was quite exhausting stuff.

"Visualize the space you want to jump to. Do not, under any circumstance or sense of machismo try to come out of the jump in a different stance yet. There are steps to this that need to be taken, otherwise we'll run out of essence of dittany."

Ginny made her way around the room surveying, and correcting, and even assisting in healing. After a half hour the partners switched up. One of them managed to come out of the jump at a run, but then they lost their balance.

As she went around the room she cast the Imperious Curse on two of the observing partners and was actually delighted when they broke it. They had been practising. She was in such a good mood still from her lovely morning wake-up, with her morning wake-up companion, that trying to maintain her 'serious Auror' persona was a struggle.

"Times up!" She yelled. "Everyone huddle around."

Seamus 'jumped' to the huddle and knocked her over in his misjudgment of distance. They fell to the ground in a tangle of limbs. Malfoy and Zabini came and lifted him off of her and she got to her feet. "Sorry!" he apologized in his embarrassment.

Ginny chuckled. "You prat." She smiled at him and received a few surprised expressions from the rest of the group. "If you are going to practice this I hope you have all learned why you need a spotter." She waited for the nods from each of the exhausted lot of them. A few involuntarily touched places on them that had gotten injured from falls and such.

"Okay. So the next phase of this, after you've perfected the jumps is to visualize yourself in different positions while stationary. From there you move on to combining the two of them, and then it will probably take a while to get the proper footing down. It took me about three months to nail that one, and it was several hours a week of trying." She told them. "Good news is. It seem that once you get it, it's like riding a bike."

"I'd imagine the lot of you are quite tired. I recommend a shower and chocolate before getting back to your desks. And remember-"

"Keep it to yourself." A few of them chanted. Not Zabini and Malfoy though. She'd always ended her morning sessions with that. It was her intention to have the afternoon session as caught off guard as the morning session. Truthfully it made her feel more in control and that was a good feeling. She'd been thoroughly irritated with Seamus last week during the case brainstorming when he wouldn't shut up in the afternoon session.

The two that were new to the morning group tried not to smile.

"Good job. Now bugger off."

They started heading towards the change rooms and she went over to check her table of supplies, gauze, potions and such to see what needed restocking.

"You seem to be in a good mood today." Zabini and Malfoy had followed her over. She tried not to grin.

Merlin, she was completely reverting back to her pre-Puerto Rico self. She'd basically become a new person in New Zealand, she easily slipped back into her half invisible Hogwarts self for her undercover stint in Australia, and during the South Africa mission too, but she'd still had the weight that had been sitting on her chest since she'd been eleven lift off her.

Coming back to the UK she'd been sure it was going to weigh her down again, but it wasn't so bad. Harry, Ron, Hermione, even Seamus had been pretty great about everything. She'd really thought her 'resting bitch face' would be the only expression she'd have in Magical London.

"Well, after Monday evening my current paramour and I may be doing better than I have expected." She admitted.

"That was the first time you'd told the story." Zabini stated.

She nodded. "And Harry took it really well too. I'd been worried about that."

"So you two are doing a little more than just shagging." Malfoy actually teased. He seemed much less stuck up today than he'd been before. Harry had mentioned they'd gone out to the pub a few times and he wasn't a complete asshole.

Ginny damned her cheeks for blushing. The two men shared a smirk. "You two will keep a lid on that I trust?"

"On my honor as a Slytherin." Zabini held up his hand.

"Ha! Trust that as far as I can throw it. Swear on something else. Say 'I swear or may every one of my conquests result in blue balls'." They all shared a laugh.

The two of them had noting to do with her before the Battle of Hogwarts, and nothing after until two days ago, but something about war and bleeding for another person on a joint quest and people were instantly and irrevocably bonded. If Emmerson, her partner from South Africa, needed her help she'd be by his side in an instant, and they'd barely spoken to each other outside of training and work-related barking back and forth.

"Look, we swear alright?" Malfoy smiled. "No need to bring our testicles into this." They all started heading for the exit. "After the last three sessions I'm a little concerned to know what we missed last week."

"Well, after embarrassing a lot of them in my introduction."

"We heard about the fireworks." Zabini smiled. "Nice touch."

"Why thank you. I was quite glad it was those two that got the call for that one." Ginny grinned as she pushed open the door to the corridor. "The first day of training we covered breaking the Imperius Curse."

"Anyone able to?"

"Harry did, but he basically shouted his defiance, now you don't even notice it."

"Seamlessly breaking the Imperius Curse?" Malfoy was surprised. "How did you learn that one?"

Ginny groaned and answered wryly. "With lots and lots of practice."

"But you can do it." He leaned in.

She stopped in the corridor and turned to him with a smug expression. "Go on, give me your best shot."

"I'm not using an Unforgivable in a public corridor." He stared at her seriously.

"Oh? Is there somewhere else you normally use them?" She smiled sweetly, making he and Zabini chuckle.

"Moving on." Malfoy rolled his eyes. "Because I believe you."

"Then we did a Muggle Studies day, where I sent them all out into the Muggle world with a task, and not allowed to use magic to complete it." She caught the appreciative looks on their faces at that. "That one was pretty entertaining." She grinned at he memory of the recordings.

"We would probably fail horribly at that." Malfoy admitted.

"Probably." They pushed into headquarters and went around the receptionist. "Then we did a brainstorming exercise and solved a missing link on a case."

"You solved a case in a training exercise?" Zabini was now impressed.

"Now, don't wet yourself in excitement." She chided. They were heading to the conference room through the room of Auror desks. "I had an unfair advantage considering I was the missing link."

"Hold up." Malfoy touched her shoulder lightly to stop her. "What case?"

"Adrien Pucey and Marcus Belby's arrest and imprisonment."

Zabini rounded on Malfoy. "I told you that was a Slytherin. You owe me 100 Galleons."

Ginny cringed a bit. "I certainly felt like a Slytherin then. Wish there had been another way to make them pay for that."

There was a flash of red out the corner of her eye and she turned to say hi to Ron, but it wasn't Ron. It was Percy. He was standing by the side offices staring at her.

"Shit." She said quietly enough for her two companions to hear, but no one else. "I'll tell you the rest later." She made her way towards him, but he turned abruptly and headed for the exit. She picked up her pace, but he was matching her speed. If there hadn't been Anti-Apparation wards all through-out the ministry, except the gym and Apparation test center, she would have easily stopped him.

He made it to the lift by the time she caught up with him. There were four other Ministry workers waiting there as well. She hastily used a charm to change her hair brown before the door opened for him and went in behind him. He seemed too much in shock to say anything, for that she was grateful as she pressed the button to let them off at the next floor, where she planned to guide him to a quiet place. With or against his will.

Percy rushed off around her when the door opened. "Don't make me bind you." She threatened. She didn't want to cause a scene, but he wouldn't stop. "Damn it Percy."

"Percy!" Hermione's happy voice called out from down the hall. For her Percy stopped. "Hello, I- Ginny? What are you doing down here?" She asked in a loud whisper.

Ginny clenched her jaw and pointed. "He saw me and ran away before I could stop him."

"Ah." She took a minuscule step backwards from them, as though she thought Percy might explode at either of them.

"You knew?" Percy nearly screeched at her.

Hermione's face blushed slightly. "Yes."

"What? And Ron and Harry?" He asked angrily.

"I'm an Auror Percy." Ginny told him.

"No you aren't. I would have seen your name come up on the registry." He argued.

"Well, okay. I'm not technically an Auror in this country. I'm on loan."

"Maybe we should go somewhere more private." Hermione suggested.

"Yes." Ginny agreed. "Can you please come back upstairs to headquarters and we can talk a bit?"

"No."

"Percy, if you don't then it is within my power to obliviate you." She tried not to make it sound threatening, but really, there was no way for it not to. Best she could do was not have her wand trained on him.

"Percy please. Ginny, there's no need for that. And maybe you should disillusion yourself. Your father.."

Ginny kicked herself. This was her fathers floor. Misuse of Muggle Artifacts was just around the corner. She narrowed her eyes at Percy. "Are you coming?"

He narrowed his eyes right back and very nearly snarled at her in response. Ginny took that as a 'yes' and disillusioned herself. She followed behind Hermione and Percy to the lift.

The doors opened and Arthur Weasley was just stepping off.

Ginny had been having such a great morning too. Now her stomach was all tied in knots.

"Hello kids. What brings you here?" He smiled.

"Trying to escape." Percy told him stiffly, through gritted teeth.

"We were just headed up to see Ron." Hermione lied with a smile.

"Ah! I'll join you. Slow day here." He told them jovially. Ginny wanted to whimper. She'd rather face that Sultan of Brunei with the Nundu than deal with this.

They went back up to Auror Headquarters and she followed behind them. Was this really how she was going to be re-introduced to her family? Hermione squirmed a little uncomfortably. Percy stalked out of the lift the second the door dinged open and headed to Ron's desk.

"My, he's rather agitated about something, isn't he?" Ginny's dad told Hermione. She failed to make a proper response, she just looked pained. "Everything alright?" He asked concerned.

"Ah. Maybe. Let's just go see Ron."

Ginny continued to follow behind them thinking over her best course of action. Percy had seen her, her father hadn't. Maybe she should just kill two birds with one stone. Begin the path to healing and all that crap. She'd said as much to Harry a few days ago.

"Hey. Hey. Hey!" Ron greeted each of them as they reached his desk with growing surprise. All the visible people anyway. He looked around with a small panic. "How. What are you all doing here? This is a surprise."

"I was here a few minutes ago. And saw." Percy stated.

"Oh. No." Ron said lowly and slowly, he knew exactly what Percy'd seen.

Ginny removed her spell. "Can we just go into the conference room?" Her father turned to her confused for a moment before recognizing her. His mouth dropped open and his eyes hardened. She caught his hurt expressed in the wrinkle between his eyebrows.

"What-"

"Conference room. Okay." Ron started pushing them." Let's go. Family meeting."

The conference room held Zabini, Malfoy and Harry. All with their feet up on a table, leaning back in their chairs. If she wasn't slightly nauseous she might have found this all quite funny. On a crazy person level.

"Looks like we're getting overrun by Weasleys." Zabini said. "Brunette doesn't really suit you Weaslette."

She looked down at her locks and dismissively cast the counter spell to turn her hair back to the right colour.

"Need us to leave?" Harry asked tentatively.

'No' she thought. Having Harry there helped. "You can stay. You three already know I'm not… evil."

"What's your explanation then?" Percy yelled at her.

She threw up a silencing and locking spell on the door and just blurted it out. "I was possessed by Tom Riddles Diary for the first eight months of my first year. I was the one that sent it to Dumbledore. I have no memory from that time, and I was doing accidental magic that first summer home. The rest of my school life I was just… trying to survive."

"You were possessed?" Zabini asked. "That explains so much." He added quietly.

"You had a Horcrux?" Malfoy asked astounded.

Ginny ignored them and looked between her father and her older brother. Ron and Hermione were looking on wearily. She could feel Harry staring at her intently. "Say something." She didn't know which one of them she was talking to more. They both looked confused.

"You were possessed?" Percy asked skeptically.

"Why didn't you say something?" Her father asked with equal hesitation.

"I wanted to. As soon as I came out of it I went to try and find Dumbledore. I managed to get to the Hospital Wing first and everyone just absolutely loathed me, and I couldn't say anything. I didn't think anyone would believe me. I was one mistake away from getting expelled. I tried to say something multiple times, but I just kept fucking up. Then only after… He was defeated did I realize he'd done something else to silence me. Before that I had just given up and got on the best I could.."

"What? By prostituting yourself?" Percy was red faced from anger, or sadness, or some other emotion she couldn't name.

"No." She bit. "I never even kissed someone until I was eighteen and far away from home. That was all just vicious rumors." She couldn't help sending a glare in Ron's direction.

"Looks like I don't owe you 100 Galleons after all." Malfoy said to Zabini quietly.

"Then how did you… If you don't mind my asking." Her dad sounded conflicted about what he had heard. But still wanted to know how it was she had managed to support herself through school.

"I wrote essays for money. And later on I brewed hangover and contraceptive potions."

Hermione tutted. "Ginny! That is no way for people to learn."

"I need to sit down." Arthur sat in the nearest chair. "And. The jumpers?" He asked quietly.

Ginny was fighting the stinging in her eyes then and looked up at the lights to staunch them. "I just found out about that."

"I know that one!" Zabini stood up and came to stand beside her. "Ginny's dorm mates stole her mail and returned it all ripped up. They used to get a good laugh about it."

Ginny turned to him aghast. "All of my mail?" He nodded. "But, that shouldn't have worked by my fourth year. I'd managed to make a confounding charm around my bed and desk by then."

"Ah. Your fourth year was when…" Her father started.

They locked eyes and she understood. They had given up on her by then. She was just an extra problem at that time, they had the real Voldemort to deal with. She watched as the pain of their messed-up history won out over her fathers face.

"Er. We'll catch up on what we missed later." Zabini patted her shoulder and Malfoy followed him out of the awkward family moment.

"So, you fought off Vo-Voldemort when you were eleven years-old, and had to suffer through tormentors and. And we all wrote you off." Percy almost whispered.

Hermione was crying now and launched herself at Ginny. Somehow, her losing it made Ginny better able to get through this with out having her own melt down.

"She fought on our side in the Battle of Hogwarts too." Harry said solemnly.

"Harry!"

"Don't you think they should know that too?"

"No. Not really. I was trying to tell them how I'm not evil, not telling them the evil things I had done."

"Killing Death Eaters to save so many others is hardly evil." Harry argued. "You helped end the battle so the right side could win."

"You helped?" Arthur asked weakly.

"You never told us that!" Hermione pulled back and wiped her eyes.

"No. I didn't." Ginny glared at Harry. He raised his eyebrows expectantly at her in a challenge. They were all waiting for her to elaborate. "Fine. Fine. I fought with Zabini and Malfoy at the Battle of Hogwarts." Those with the Weasley surname sucked in a breath. Clearly they all knew what Zabini and Malfoy had done during the battle.

Ginny just wanted to get through the rest of this. "And then after I graduated I moved to New Zealand, and I've lived a few other places too. Now I'm back until Saturday working here on something. That's it. That's my story." She told them straight forward. "Keep hating me if you want to, but just know that I never set out to be malicious. Shit just happened."

"You've been alone? All this time?" Her fathers voice cracked, his voice sounding like each word was a cut to the heart.

"Well. The past few years I've been-" She thought of her pseudo family in New Zealand, and her other friends in the other countries. "I've sort of assembled a family in my travels. Like Harry did with you lot."

"We abandoned you." Percy said.

"No. I wasn't me. Tom- Voldemort turned. Well. He just made a mess that I couldn't figure out how to clean up." She had almost said that it wasn't their fault. But she couldn't help thinking that in some way, it was. If Ron hadn't spread rumors, if her dad or mum had mentioned the Weasley sweaters, if Percy had ever talked to her. It was her own fault too, for being gullible and being too weak to tell them.

"Look. I can't do this anymore right now. I have reports to do, and have. I just have to go."

"Ginny. Wait." Her father came up to her, but he stopped just short of touching her. "Please. I've been so mad at you for so long."

"You mean disappointed." She corrected.

"Both." He admitted sadly. "I just need to know." He pleaded with her. "Will you. Will you come to the Burrow tonight?"

Her heart jumped into her throat. He wanted her to tell her mother too. Of course he did. Then she'd have to tell the other four brothers and she would never be done talking. "You tell her."

"Ginny, please." He grabbed on to her hand.

"You tell her what I told you." She clarified. "I'll come tonight. But I had a hard enough time telling this story three times now in the last week. You tell her, and I'll come round after dinner and answer some questions you have." He gave her a weak and watery smile. "I have to go." She pulled her hand from his and made a bee line straight for the gym with-out looking back.

()()()()()()

Ron came and found her near an hour after she'd gotten to the gym.

"Reparo." She yelled and the sparring dummy collected all of its broken shards and came together for the tenth time or so. She was still entirely worked up, but she was nearing the point of exhaustion now.

"They feel really bad." He told her.

"Good." She said, allowing herself a moment to catch her breath before she worked on destroying the dummy again. "And how do you feel?"

"Like the shittiest person on earth." He admitted.

She locked her brown eyes on his blue. "Good." She turned back to the dummy. "Reducto." It blasted apart.

"How many times have you imagined that was me?"

"Twice. That time it was Harry though. He shouldn't have brought up the Battle."

"How did he know?" Ron asked curiously. "You didn't tell us at the dinner."

"No, I didn't. But since Harry and I have been shagging each other for a week now we've talked a little more than you and I, and he knows me a better than you." She told him flippantly and aimed her wand back at the dummy. "Reparo."

Harry chose that moment to come into the gym.

"You've been shagging Harry?" Ron asked astounded. Ron turned and saw him there, unable to close his jaw.

Harry's steps faltered at Ron's calling out. Ginny turned to him as well. "There. Now we're even."

"Ginny." He said testily.

"What? You told something that wasn't yours to tell, and now I've told something you didn't want to tell." She told him petulantly.

"Actually, I did want him to know that. I just would have rather it come about differently." He argued. "Like maybe not in anger, and maybe not in those words."

"Yeah, well, clearly I haven't blown up the dummy enough to be thinking clearly." Ginny growled. Harry flicked his wand and locked all the doors to they gym.

"You two? What?" Ron kept looking back and forth between them.

Harry ignored him. "They would have asked you about it, I just stopped you having to tell them later."

"Diffindo." She knocked the dummy back a few feet.

"I'm sorry alright?" Harry exasperated. "You know I'm hoping you can forge some kind of relationship with your family again."

"And you should have realized by now that I have an issue with losing control of situations. Why do you think I worked so damn hard to be able to throw off the Imperius Curse?" She yelled. "Why do you think it took me a whole week to tell you about the battle?"

"I already said I was sorry." He yelled back. "But I stand by the fact that they needed to know. And if you and I are going to make this work, then you need to know that you aren't always going to have the control."

She stormed off towards the girls change room and unlocked the door. Harry locked it again before she could open it. "Unlock the door Harry."

"No."

"Harry!"

"No. I want you to stay here and talk to me."

"Well I need to leave and find some way to relax before my next session and I can't do that with you two in here."

"Fine." He turned to Ron. "Mind giving us some privacy."

"What?! You expect me to-" Ron exclaimed.

"Yes."

"But."

"Leave Ron." Harry yelled.

Ron had obviously seen Harry angry before, but the last time he'd yelled at him was right before Ron had abandoned Harry and Hermione on the Horcrux hunt, which meant he was very serious. It calmed Ron down a level and understand just how serious the two of them were about each other. He swallowed his objections and turned to the exit.

Ginny still stood facing the change room door with one hand on the handle. Harry walked up behind her. "Are you really only angry about my telling them about it?" He knew the answer, and he knew she didn't want to admit it.

Ginny knew she was being stubborn. That had just been the one thing she couldn't blame herself for. "They would have found out eventually." He reiterated.

"Harry." She sighed. "I'm tired, and I just want to take a shower, get some food and calm down."

He reached out a tentative hand and put it on her hip. She didn't pull away from him, so he stepped in and fit himself against her back. She closed her eyes to the comfort of his warmth on her. "It's just been me knowing for so long." She admitted quietly.

"I don't want it to just be you anymore." She deflated and rested her head back on his shoulder. "We were just talking about you moving in with me this morning. Moving in because I'm planning on leaving with you next week. Did you think I would only be your tag along, or your partner in… your adventures?"

"I hadn't thought about what kind of roles we would play to each other." She chewed her bottom lip.

"Well start. Because I do know that you have only had to account for yourself for several years. But I want a partnership with you that makes us equals. We're both new to the relationship thing, but if you can't… give a little of your control. Then I get it." He took a step back from her then.

Ginny turned around slowly and leaned against the wall. Harry was hard faced, but she could almost see the desperation in his eyes. She didn't want him to change his mind. She wanted a relationship with him too. Unsure of what to say, she gripped her wand before she could change her mind and changed form.

As her Animagus self she could portray her emotions more comfortably. She padded over to him and put her front paws up on his leg and gave him her sad puppy dog eyes until he gave her a frustrated smile and picked her up. She nuzzled him with her snout and gave him a lick by his ear that tickled him, and he nuzzled her back.

Harry gave her a hug and petted her back and tail before he put her back down. She changed back into herself. "I should have known you were a fox." He smiled.

She gave him a shy smile back. "I know I'm stubborn, and I've got control issues stemming from years of crap, but I really want to be with you Harry. And if you can deal with the fact that I will fly off the handle every now and again, and not listen to reason until it's forced on me. Then. Then I really hope you can try. Because I really want to try too."

"Yes." He came forward and gave her a long, deep kiss.

She was feeling shaky and vulnerable, but it was kind of wonderful too. There were tingles all through-out her body and waves of warmth as he held the back of her head and their lips danced together. She smiled against his mouth, relishing in his embrace.

"Thank you." She said as they pulled apart.

"For what?" He pried in a teasing manner.

She sighed slightly exasperated. "For telling them. And for finding me and yelling at me. It's been a while since I've been yelled at."

"You like that huh?" He kissed her again. "Better?" He asked looking into her eyes.

She rested her head on his shoulder and hugged him close. "Much." They stood embracing. She felt she could have fallen asleep standing up then. Until a door rattling brought them back to the fact that they were at work, and it was not even noon yet. "Shit." She pulled back from him and searched his eyes. "Did you mean it?"

"All of it. But which part are you asking about?"

"About telling Ron."

"Yes. And if you want me to, I'll hold your hand through talking to your parents as well."

Her eyebrows went up in surprise. "That idea doesn't scare you?"

"No. It bloody terrifies me." He admitted. "It's going to be entirely awkward and uncomfortable. And I'd rather take down the next dark lord. But I want to be there for you." He pulled her hand up to his lips and kissed her palm.

She grinned at him. "It is going to be awkward and uncomfortable." She agreed. "And we'll probably need some hang-over potion for afterwards."

"Think I can arrange that." The door rattled again.

"Okay. I have to finish calming down and get some actual work done." She said. He kissed her lips one more time and stepped back before unlocking the doors.

"Oi! Why was the gym locked?" Auror Johnson demanded of them when he burst through the door.

Ginny put her Auror face back on. "Why is it you can't manage a simple 'Alohamora'?" She demanded right back.

"Oh." He realized who he'd just yelled at. "Right. Sorry." He scampered off across the room.

Ginny shook her head. "Where's the backbone on some of these guys?"

"You are rather a force to be reckoned with. All authoritative and dead sexy." He whispered the last part.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "I'm taking a shower now. I'll see you later."

()()()()()()()

Harry was completely and utterly exhausted. He really wished someone would have levitated him back to his desk after that training session. Monday's had had his adrenaline going, but he'd felt rather exhilarated after. Yesterday's was enlightening, and interesting. Now though, he knew how to Apparate, and it wasn't difficult for him, but this Combat Apparation idea took so much magical energy, and they weren't even at the difficult part yet.

He'd been one of the lucky few that hadn't cause serious damage to himself doing the jumps. Ron had been the spotter first and was nearly green by the time it was his turn. No doubt he was remembering his splinching experience. He'd done pretty well though. Only fell down and rolled his ankle.

They both acknowledged how bad ass it would be to have this skill. It reminded Harry of the superhero comics his cousin used to have. Ginny had executed it flawlessly. No wonder Blaise and Draco were having trouble keeping their eyes open earlier.

"I think I need a restorative potion." Ron moaned as he climbed into his desk chair and lay his head down on his crossed arms.

"Brought you caffeine." Blaise appeared by their desks and set down a steaming mug on each. Harry cringed at the taste, but drank it anyways.

Ron gave a groan and sipped from his. "Thanks mate."

"Think we'll be doing that again tomorrow?" Blaise asked.

"Well. None of our group managed to do it today, did they?" Harry said.

"Some of us couldn't throw off the Imperius either. She'd been moving on to different things every day." Ron pointed out.

"Pretty bloody brilliant. Can't believe I completely passed over her in school." He pulled up a chair. "Honestly don't remember seeing her at all after my fourth year though." He shrugged. "Oh well. Too late now, eh?" He waggled his eyebrows at Harry.

"Don't." Harry warned.

"Yeah. Don't" Ron agreed.

Blaise's teasing Harry could deal with, but not about this. He was lucky Ron already knew. And Ron was either too tired to bug him about it then, or he had completely fallen into the habit of talking things through with Hermione before losing his head and putting his foot in his mouth.

"Right. Moving on. Heard you put in for a transfer." He focused on Ron.

"Yeah. Not a rogue bachelor anymore. And that department is way less life threatening."

"Oh Merlin. You're going to get the know-it-all knocked up, aren't you?" Blaise gave a mock horrified face.

"If she isn't already." Harry smirked.

Ron didn't get embarrassed though. "If there's one thing us Weasley's know how to do, it's procreate." He winked.

Ginny came around the other side of Harry's desk. "Everyone still hanging in there?" She teased. "Oh." She said intrigued and took Harry's mug, drinking from it. She closed her eyes a moment to savor, then handed it back. "Where's Malfoy gone off to?" She asked Blaise.

He shrugged. Ginny groaned. "Well, that means I have to do reports instead of test you two idiots." She said frustrated. Harry grinned at her tiredly before she sauntered away.

()()()()()

She felt thirteen again. Standing at the top of the hill to the Burrow, unable to speak. Harry stood beside her. And that was all she was doing. Standing there frozen. All the memories of every moment through her teen years that had broken her now, almost mended, heart.

She saw her fathers shed she had slept in when she was too afraid to sleep in the house alone. The light was on in the kitchen where she had almost been raped. The Quidditch pitch that she had looked over from her bedroom window, watching her brothers and their friends having fun. She could just make out her mothers chair through the window of the sitting room when she had tried and failed to tell what had happened so many times.

It was a lot.

"Breathe Ginny." She jumped at Harry's voice. She'd forgotten he was there, even though he was holding her hand.

She did as he asked and started taking deep meditative breaths.

She could do this.

How much more of a disappointment could she possibly be to her parents. Would it really make a difference to tell them the truth?

Yes.

Obviously.

Ron hadn't taken it too well to find out the truth. But he was better with her now. Comfortable-ish. Enough anyways.

Her father and Percy looked conflicted about her story. Like they didn't know whether to trust it. That was one of the possibilities of the outcome of the evening. They might not believe her, that was what had stopped her telling them the summer after the Battle. The last time she'd seen them.

There were two cracks behind her.

Ron and Hermione. Hermione came and took her other hand. "You can do this." She reassured her. Ginny just stared into her big brown eyes. "The three of us believe you Ginny." She cut through to Ginny's issue right away. "We're your back up."

"You don't think they'll believe you?" Ron asked.

Ginny sighed and Harry kissed the back of the hand he was holding. "That was sort of my problem in telling them the truth sooner."

"But."

"But nothing. Would you have believed eleven year-old me, saying I'd been possessed by a seventeen year-old boy nearly all year? After whatever it was he'd made me do?"

Ron actually thought about it before reacting. He clenched his jaw and cast his gaze down. "No." He replied quietly. "But once Voldemort came back. Why didn't you try to say anything then?"

"You mean the summer you all abandoned me alone at the Burrow because I wasn't to be trusted?" She challenged. Hermione and Harry both sucked in a breath. Ginny imagined that even they had forgotten about that. "Well. I'm worked up enough now. Let's get this over with."

Ginny let go of Harry's and Hermione's hands and started marching down the hill to the house.

"Ginny." Harry caught up with her. "Going into this angry isn't the best idea. Can you take a breath or something first?"

"What? Just drop down and do some yoga?" She bit. Hermione and Ron had caught up too. "I've a pretty good idea that I'm about to walk into a nightmare, and I don't have the best control of myself right now. Just let me freak out a little."

"Killing the dummies earlier wasn't enough for you then?" Ron joked.

Ginny turned to glare at him but found herself trying to suppress a laugh instead at his expression. "Damn it Ron!"

The three of them smiled at her.

The kitchen door opened and her parents came out into the yard. Ginny stood rooted to the spot, staring from her mum to her dad and back again. It looked like her father had told his wife what he'd learned of their youngest that day.

Percy came out into the yard as well. None of them were glaring at her. They all looked a cross between sad and uncomfortable.

Hermione nudged Ginny forward until they could all see each other properly.

"Hello." Ginny said lamely.

Her mum was the first to speak. "They. Said you were possessed."

Ginny searched her face to see if she believed it. She couldn't tell. "Yeah. By Tom Riddle. Voldemort. Most of my first year."

"And. And the little outbursts." She was wringing her hands in her apron, as if to stop herself from doing something else with her hands.

"Accidental magic. I wasn't the one actually being taught at Hogwarts the whole year." She answered quietly.

"Why don't we go inside. I think we'll need a drink." Her dad offered.

Once her parents and Percy turned back to the house, Harry gave her hand a squeeze.

She walked into the kitchen and looked down at the door jam on the way in. Where she'd blasted Ron, then over to the space on the floor in front of the stove. That had been the most traumatic experience in this room, and she'd tucked it away into the room in her mind.

The three of them were sat at the far end of the kitchen table, Ginny picked the seat farthest away from them. Ron, Harry and Hermione sat close to her. Ron grabbed the glasses and her dad poured them all a healthy portion of whiskey.

Ginny didn't try to hide her detection charm. They all noticed, particularly when she met her fathers eye and held it, daring him to comment.

"You're an Auror now?" Her mother asked in a high voice.

"I started training in New Zealand not long after I graduated from Hogwarts." Ginny said matter of fact.

"And you sold essays in school." She had a worry line creasing right down the middle of her eyebrows.

"Pretty sure your husband and son already told you that. I sold hangover potions too, in my seventh year. So much celebrating going on then." She swirled her drink around and took another sip. "The contraceptive potions were particularly popular too."

"They. They did. I just… They told me about the post, and the- jumpers too. That boy from Slytherin confirmed it."

"Maybe we can try summoning the ghost of Voldemort to confirm the possession bit for you." Ginny said bitterly. They all cringed at that.

"Dumbledore told me about the Diary." Harry said looking down at his glass. "It was the first Horcrux we found of His."

"So… You. We." Her mum couldn't get her words out.

Ginny just gave her a hard look, knowing she couldn't get out how either of them had behaved. She hadn't been able to say anything, and they had treated her accordingly. "Yep." She took a mouthful of her drink and savored the taste on her tongue. Then she swallowed it down and looked over to the floor in front of the stove again.

"Here's one you all haven't heard yet." She pointed to the spot. "I was almost raped right there."

All six sets of eyes went wide, staring at her. "Remember when I attacked Ron after you all had left me here for a month by myself? Well, three Death Eaters had showed up before that. The Lestrange's and a guy named Fabian. Seemed Fabian had a taste for young girls. Got real excited that he'd probably be my first." She took another drink.

The room was completely silent.

"Managed to do some damage to the three of them by raiding the twin's supplies. Pretty sure I melted half of their faces, then bolted to the broom shed and made it to the woods. But." She smiled mockingly. "Don't worry. I came back after they left to put out the fire they'd started and set the kitchen back to right."

"How did you deal with that?" Hermione asked horrified.

Ginny gave her a confused look. "Underage magic and elbow grease."

"No!" Hermione clarified. "The Death Eaters. That must have been traumatizing."

Ginny shrugged. "Slept in the shed after I booby trapped the windows and door. It isn't like it was the first awful thing to happen to me."

Her mother and father buried their faces int heir hands and she watched their shoulders quiver. She wasn't unaffected telling them all this, but the firewhiskey was helping keep her from reliving it emotionally.

"Should we move into the sitting room?" Percy asked quietly. "Err. Nothing happened to you there, did it?" He was uncertain.

"No. That was the worst of it."

"Here anyways." Harry ground out.

She hadn't realized how tense she was until she looked at him. His expression, like he'd do anything to take away all the bad that had happened to her, them, it made her relax and feel safe. Her teeth had actually hurt from how hard she'd been grinding them with-out noticing.

"Can you tell me about the time you were in, um, Mortal Peril?" Ron asked, unsure and gestured to the clock.

They all looked over to it, her hand was still on 'travelling'. Everyone else was pointed to 'home', even Harry. His had been added as part of his seventeenth birthday gift.

'At least they hadn't taken me off.' Ginny thought. "If they point to 'home' when you are at the Burrow, what do they point to when you're at actual 'home'?" Ginny asked.

"The same." Her mum sniffled. "It points to home when ever you're at somewhere that feels like home."

"Oh."

"So, uh. Mortal Peril?" Ron asked again.

Ginny blew out her cheeks. "Uh. Well, that would have been when I was in peril, mortally." She said evasively. "For work."

"When was this?" Hermione asked Ron more than Ginny.

"Two years ago. Dominiques birthday." Ron told her.

Hermione turned to Ginny sharply. "Didn't you say you'd lived in South Africa?" Ginny nodded, cringing. "Ginny! That was a very violent war!"

Ginny snickered. The drink was settling in warmly. "I know. Kind of why I was there. I survived though, and we won."

Percy stood up. "Sitting room?"

They all followed him into the sitting room. Ginny sat in the love seat with Harry. No one said anything about that.

"You're." Her mum started in a squeeky voice, then she cleared her throat. "Your hand wasn't on travelling yesterday morning."

Ginny's brow furrowed in confusion. "What was it on?"

"It was on 'home'." She said it like a question. Clearly wanting to know where her 'home' was.

Ginny's eyes went wide and she felt a huge blush take over her whole face. She tried to fight her need to see Harry's reaction, but she couldn't. His emerald eyes were shimmering in delight and he had the biggest Cheshire Cat grin on his face.

"Really?" He asked, entirely too proud with himself.

"Are you two together?" Percy asked astounded.

Ginny found herself unable to reply. Harry took her hand and wove his fingers through hers. "Yes." He gave her a chaste kiss on the lips.

"What?" Her mum asked in shock. "When?"

"Last Tuesday." Ginny sighed.

"What?!" Hermione exclaimed. "That's wonderful! So are you staying then?" She beamed.

They both cringed then. "We hadn't." Ginny started

"I'd actually thought." Harry blushed

"Yeah, he had holiday, and."

"And you know. I've never."

"Right, travelling and such."

They were both embarrassingly nervous about that and unsure of how to answer appropriately, since they hadn't worked out the kinks of what him leaving with her would mean, or how it would work.

"You're leaving again?" Her dad asked.

"But you just got back." Her mum stated. "And we have so much to… say."

"I am only here training on a two week contract, and that ends on Friday."

"Ginny. But. You have to stay now." Her mum pleaded.

"Why?" She was confused.

"Because you're my daughter. Because I just found out. Because we were all so horribly mis-guided and I was deprived of you for so long." She said through tears.

"Oh." Ginny replied slowly. "What exactly are you expecting?" She tried to keep the anger out of her voice, keep it more curious instead. Which she pulled off.

"For you to be part of the family again. To understand, to hear about your life!"

"Charlie lives in Romania. Is he not still part of the family?" Ginny pointed out.

"Of course he is. But we just thought we might have more time with you." Her father explained. "To get to know you again."

She went to take another swig of her drink, but it was empty. "Can I have another?" She held it up. Ron jumped up and went to the liquor cabinet and filled up her glass. "So, here's the thing." Ginny said after a sip. "I felt pretty abandoned when I lived in this country since I was ten. And there are a lot of horrible and emotional memories. In fact, if it weren't for Harry I probably wouldn't even be talking to you all. You can't just expect me to suddenly be 'part of the family' again after so many years of you all thinking I was, as Ron put it, a selfish evil bitch."

Ginny wasn't raising her voice, nor did she even feel angry about what she was saying. She really just hoped they'd be okay with not setting expectations on her. Her mum bit her bottom lip and her chin wobbled.

"Ginny. Why didn't you tell us sooner?" Her dad asked quietly.

"We wouldn't have believed her." Ron said miserably. "And it was my fault. The um, rumors about her pro- at Hogwarts."

Ginny stared down at her hand in Harry's. "While I was still under his compulsion charm, or whatever, I tried. I wrote letters constantly through my second year. But they all read so fantastically that I thought you all might think I was mocking you. I even wrote one to Hermione."

"You did?" She asked.

"Yeah. After that time I bumped into you in the corridor, and you helped me with my books. But I tore that one up too. I was basically just apologizing for snapping at you and trying to explain my role in you getting petrified."

"But the charm wouldn't let you send it."

"I know that's the reason why now. I felt the charm break after Harry killed him." She turned to her mum. "I got really close to telling you once. Right before everyone came back from the World Cup. But then…"

Her mum nodded. "I remember." She turned her head to where Ginny had been standing at the base of the stairs.

Ginny chose not to mention the tea time Ginny had planned earlier that day.

"What about after the Battle then?" Percy asked. "If the mental block lifted when he died. Why didn't you tell us then?"

Ginny shifted uncomfortably.

"She was doing a self imposed days of silence for what she'd done to help us a the Battle that summer." Harry answered for her.

"And then I was back to Hogwarts." Ginny said. "Everyone was piecing the world together again. No one needed me to pile on to that. And I still didn't think anyone would believe me."

No one protested against her opinion. They all just looked lost in the memories from after the Battle.

"Can we just- We can't change the past. I'm better now. My life's been pretty good since I left." She smiled to herself. "Pretty great actually."

"You said you lived in New Zealand?" Percy said, trying to steer the conversation towards something light.

"Yeah!" Ginny brightened, the spirits were making her much less uncomfortable. "I, um, I actually lived as a Muggle for a few months." She said, looking at her dad.

"Really?" He smiled.

"Yeah. I was a bar back. I lived at the beach, learned about electronics and television and all that. It was… a nice break."

The palpable tension in the room slowly dissipated as Ginny shared stories of her adventures, leaving out anything having to do with her work as an Auror. Percy told her all about his wife and daughter, and how they were expecting again. Her mum had tears in her eyes the whole time. Her dad would have a flush come over his face every now and then, but the three of those Weasley's were looking fairly less melancholic by the time Ginny was ready to call it a night.

There were five of them walking back to the Apparation point. Percy was heading home too.

After three bodies cracked away, Harry and Ginny were the last two left standing atop the hill. They were both visibly pleased with how the evening had gone.

"Your place?" Ginny asked.

Harry responded by tugging her into his embrace. They both sunk into the hug with a content sigh. Harry kissed the top of her head and pulled her in a little tighter before apparating the pair of them to his foyer.

She tilted her head up to look at his face. She was complacently drunk. He frowned at her slightly. "You really went through so much by yourself."

"Has it really only been eight days?" She thoughtlessly asked aloud as she stared into his eyes. Their relationship had evolved so fast into something meaningful and real, it was weird to think about. It was her first real relationship, and as she stood there looking at the concern on his face she smiled. "I love you." She told him straight.

His concern turned to surprise. A slow grin spread over his face. "I love you too."

They leaned in and rested their foreheads on the others and gazed happily into each others eyes.

()()()()

**AN- Now she has started the process of re-connecting with her family. Don't worry though. All is not completely right with them yet. She can't let them off the hook that easily.**


	17. Australia

**Getting lots of reviews. I like that, it's encouraging. Even the one's listing questionable story choices. Keep on reading, and don't forget to favorite or follow.**

**Australia 2001-2003**

Apparently it was a Muggle expression to say that one had 'run off to join the circus'. Ginny wondered some times if her father, who very much liked everything Muggle, had ever said that about her and her disappearing act. She pondered this while she was very high up in the air with several loops of silk wrapped fastidiously around her legs and arms as she waited for her queue to begin the very graceful and awe-inspiring plummet back down to earth.

Because, at twenty-one years of age, that was essentially what she had done.

Ginny was part of a trapeze and aerials act in a travelling Circus that looped its way around Australia. She'd been doing the same act for six months. She'd auditioned in Canberra when they were packing up to move on to Melbourne. The Little Big Top Circus traveled clockwise around the island continent doing week long shows where ever they stopped.

Three days for set-up before, three days tear down after. The actual travelling part was their 'day off', though since they didn't travel too far on those days it was alright.

Her resting bitch face hadn't been a problem here, which was nice because it had actually endeared her to a few of the other acts. Endearment in circus life just meant that they didn't mess with her. Hard not to have RBF when always stuck wearing a lycra outfit.

Circus people, as it turned out, weren't the friendliest of people. No one talked about their back story, they only ate together and worked on their craft. On the whole they were mostly outcasts of the wizarding world that were too 'odd' to be able to fit into the Muggle world. Contortionists, fire breathers, animal wranglers, knife throwers and the like. Some of them were actually Muggles, but they knew of the magical world because of a relative, or simply stumbling upon it when the attempted to actually join the Circus.

No one shielded her from what was really going on with the business any more. She had managed to express just enough interest in the animals and products they were smuggling that the leads were not weary of her any more.

Ginny couldn't help but make a face when it was people they were smuggling though. Usually it was girls from the islands, young and pretty. But Ginny kept her nose clean in regards to the shady side of the business, at least as far as the other members of the Circus were concerned.

In truth, she had the names of as many of the contacts that had been supplied or were supplying illegal products, animals or people, as she possibly could with out getting caught. Some of it truly astounded her; What possible use could the Sultan of Brunei have for a Nundu in Bandar Seri Begawan? He could wipe out the entire population of the country if the animal was mishandled.

She had only completed one whole tour of the country in the six months she'd been under cover. Only once a month was she able to sneak out and contact the Head Auror directly about the goings on and give names and shipments. Any more and it would be too much.

She slept in a bunk room tent with four other girls. Her 'bed' was a hammock. It was a very rough way to live, but she was doing it for the greater good. That was what she told herself.

Yesterday had been the day she managed to Apparate to Cairns, where Auror Headquarters was, to give her report. He was satisfied with all of her work thus far, as they had managed to stabilize quite a few situations that could have gotten out of hand quickly thanks to her intel. _Particularly_ the Nundu situation.

He wanted her to do one more tour of the country with them. She'd seen that request coming. Two tours would help confirm the repeat customers, she would just have to look on the bright side and suck it up.

The only bright side being that she did love the feeling of flying that the aerial silks gave her, and she had seen some amazing places she otherwise wouldn't have.

But she was a little antsy after not having sex for six months, and wouldn't take care of herself in a hammock in a room with so many other girls. She also flat out refused to shag one of the other members of the Circus, lest they need to be arrested later and it be thrown back in her face.

They were tempting. Some of the men were just so surly and built with a set of abs she could climb like a ladder. She had to think of something disgusting to turn herself off after seeing them sometimes.

David, the Harry Potter look alike, had been a good introduction into a sex life for her. She hadn't been laisse-faire about it, but there had been three other men after him, two one-night stands and one that she'd bumped into by chance again at the market and gone for a second round with. She hadn't had any intention of getting a boyfriend, she doubted she'd ever be able to properly open up to anyone, let alone a Muggle.

So, she kept all of her interactions with men short and sweet.

Now, here she was, perched near the ceiling, essentially mummified in silk, wishing this under cover operation would just end already so she could go out, get a drink, get laid and stay away from lycra outfits for a very long time.

Her signal light shone and she released her hold on her anchor and began her twisting and turning plummet down to the ground. Plummet is what it felt like sometimes, but to those in the stands it looked like a rapid controlled dance down to earth. She came to a stop with her nose and inch from the dirt, then slowly and seductively wrapped the silks around her, just as she had for the last 142 times she'd performed this particular act for an amazed audience. Sometimes a few times a day.

She made dramatic eyes and gestures at the audience while smiling and trying not to look like she was seriously concentrating on getting the muscles in her arms and legs to cooperate and wrap back around the silks, pulling her back up ten feet above the ground to swing back and forth, striking poses while the next act did their bit below her.

Just another day.

After the performance was done she assisted with tear downs as they were headed from Adelaide to Perth next. That was when she saw flames erupt from the business side of the tent. This wasn't an uncommon experience, but these flames were triple the size of the usual ones. She made eyes at the clown near her that saw it also. They both lowered their heads and continued on with their task. They were not to ask questions, or go and look. They knew better than that.

Except after dinner, Ginny did investigate.

There were a few things that could be the cause of such flames. Someone could be casting Fiendfyre, unlikely. One of the flame eaters could have added too much flammable substance to their sticks, also unlikely. Or there could be a dragon there. Likely. She frowned deeply and sadly as she came through the flap of the tented cargo area and found an Antipodean Opaleye.

Great, they were dealing in dragons now too.

The beast was magnificent. Pearly white scales and rainbow eyes. It wasn't terribly large for a dragon, it must have been quite young. And on a scale of one to Nundu, it was pretty harmless, but there was no way the beast was going all the way to Adelaide with them.

She walked around it's cage admiring the beast, and admonishing her employers when she heard people coming in. She had already been disillusioned, but added a featherlight and non-odorous charm before climbing onto one of the other packaged up crates.

It was Hunter Bastien, the Ringmaster, with two men Ginny didn't recognize. She wasn't close enough to hear what they were saying, but from the gestures she could tell they were there for the dragon.

Carefully she slipped down from her position and slinked over to near where they were standing so she could listen in. The men were planning on taking the dragon to Oodnadatta to wipe out a competing cattle farmers livestock.

Ginny rolled her eyes. Of all of the stupid reasons to get a dragon, driving up cattle costs and taking out your neighbor was pretty high up there. They planned to kill it for its properties after. No doubt that alone would make them more money than they were spending on the beast. The poor thing was worth more dead then alive. And the Opals were endangered.

That set off a light in her mind.

This intel may actually get Ginny out of here. Dealing in Nundu's was one thing, they were extremely dangerous, but there were colonies of them on abandoned islands all over Oceania and they weren't endangered. The Opaleye was and that could be the last straw for Hunter Bastien. She just had to find out where he'd gotten it from.

The buyers did a thorough inspection and Hunter led them out of the area, probably to finish the transaction.

Ginny searched all around for some sign of how the dragon got there in the first place. It wasn't like Hunter kept a filing cabinet or Accounts Receivable documents laying about, but there might be something kicking around. Quickly as possible she checked through all of the smaller boxes, and circled the dragon's crate to see if there was any indication of where it was from.

Nothing could be found in and around the beast, or anywhere in the cargo area. So, she made her way to Hunter's personal quarters to search there.

He stayed in his own abode. It looked like a Muggle VW Caravan from the outside, but on the inside it was a one bedroom flat with a small study, a sitting area and a little kitchen space. She'd only ever been in there one time before. It was after her first one week stretch of performances to solidify her employment. Sort of like a second round interview.

She hadn't missed the gentle probing about her feelings towards the more nefarious side of the business. She'd passed that test with a lazy shrug of her shoulder, being sure to think only of her sleep hammock through the whole face to face, lest he be a Legillimence.

Now she slipped directly into his study, took a quick look around to make sure she was alone, and started looking though the drawers. That was when she found a dossier on all of the employees. Quickly she tore through the files in search of her own name. Here she was simply known as 'Cammie'. It had been a play on 'Chameleon'. If that nickname was going to stick, as it had her entire stint in New Zealand, then she figured she may as well play it up.

She found it. 'Cammie'. She quickly tore the file open. She had just enough sense of mind to check for alarms or traps before opening it. They knew she was a witch, British and knew she'd gone to Hogwarts. But there was nothing about her being an Auror, nothing about New Zealand, not even her real name. She tried a basic 'Revilio' and got nothing. There was a note at the bottom of the parchment that simply said 'be weary'.

Just the one page on her.

She was very curious about the other files that were quite thick. In case there was some other undetected charm on the other files, she gave a quick look through the ones on the other girls in her bunk. They weren't big files either; orphan, pick pocket, accidental magic, Squibs and the like. She put the files back and continued her search for information on the dragon.

The door to the Caravan opened as she was about to head into the bedroom to search and she froze. Hunter was back.

It sounded like he was alone. She was still disillusioned, but if he suspected someone being here in this small of a space it wouldn't take much to find her.

She heard his footsteps lead into his kitchen, she heard the distinct 'pop' of a bottle top coming off a glass bottle and a sigh. She slipped into his sitting room. On the small coffee table by his arm chair was what she was looking for.

A leather bound ledger.

That had to hold the information she was after.

He moved from the kitchen to his chair and picked up the ledger in one hand, holding a beer in the other. He ran his finger down the spine and it glowed faintly before he opened it. It must have required his magical signature to open.

Shit.

She crept closer. This was getting incredibly dangerous. Scent free, making no noise and disillusioned, but everyone had the ability to just sense a persons presence. But she had to know where the beast had come from.

He was going over the info on the dragon so she could see the information on it clear as day. He'd managed to get the price he wanted it seemed, and the buyers were taking it right away. The seller was a man in Uluru calling himself 'Dundee'. Probably just a call sign, but it was a place to start.

She backed up slowly and carefully moved around to come in front of him, placing herself in the corner where he wouldn't accidentally walk into her. Now she would have to wait until he went to his bed to try sneaking out.

He closed the ledger and polished off his beer. She hoped that would mean he was headed to sleep now, being as it was late.

She wasn't so lucky.

With the ledger and bottle set down he popped the button on his trousers and stuck his hand down his pants. Ginny made a face and rolled her eyes, wishing she'd have been able to face the wall instead, but that would lower the probability of her finding the opportunity to escape. Instead she averted her eyes and prayed he'd be done quickly.

Unfortunately he dragged it out. It was like he was teasing himself, she was about ready to throw up when there was a knock at the door. Dominic, the second in command, called to him from outside the door.

There seemed to be this unwritten rule somewhere that demanded all second in commands be simpering portly fellows. Dominic sure was. Hunter had pulled his trousers back together and gotten up to open the door.

Dominic came in quickly and snapped the door closed. She wanted to kick herself. At this rate she'd get out of there tomorrow.

Dominic was just going over logistics and took off his over coat and tossed it in Ginny's direction. There had been no time to do anything about it, the coat hit her and slid down her frame to the floor.

Hunter noticed.

He drew his wand faster than she could reach hers, tucked in the special pocket she'd added at her thigh, and cast the Imperious Curse. She instantly felt amazing.

_You want to remove any spells on yourself._ She immediately took her wand and removed her three spells.

"What? Cammie?" Dominic was astounded.

Hunter walked over to her and looked her up and down. Her face was completely serene, but inside Ginny was struggling. This was the first time she'd been put under the Imperious, she knew it was completely out of character for her to remove her spells, but it had felt _really_ good to do it.

Hunter turned to Dominic, who seemed astounded and rather scared. "Leave this with me. I'll take care of this situation." He told him calmly, with a smirk.

Dominic hesitated, but listened to his boss and opened the door of the Caravan, disappearing. His jacket was still at Ginny's feet.

Hunter traced a finger down her face. He moved back and sat in his chair.

_You want to come and sit in my lap._ She immediately went forward and sat in his lap, straddling him as best the armchair allowed. His hands went to her hips, and up to her breasts. _You want to have sex with me._

No. She really didn't. Aside from the fact that he didn't have any qualities she found particularly attractive, he himself wasn't a very attractive person either. Long mustache, overly gelled hair, and he'd started letting himself go at least a decade ago. Easily into his fifties, Hunter was not an appealing man.

He leaned forward and pulled her hair out of her body suit. It had been tucked down the back to keep it out of the way. He buried his face in her neck, nuzzling just under her ear. She fought against the curse. She'd had more than her share of people taking control of her body.

No.

No.

No!

Her body jerked as the curse broke. Hunter didn't seem to notice she wasn't under his control. Her sudden movement had unwittingly made her rock her pelvis against his and he'd moaned.

She thought quickly over her options. If she was going to maintain her cover she'd have to obliviate him, but then track down Dominic, and who knows if he'd told anyone yet. Best case scenario if she stayed would be her remaining under Hunter's Imperius and winding up his little puppet. There was no way that was going to happen. So, for right now she would have to play along and think of a potential alternative.

It disgusted her to have to let him kiss her, and kiss him back.

She reached to pull at her body suit to get it down over her shoulders and to her waist. She had to get her wand with out him cottoning on, best way to do that was distract him. He pulled back from her mouth and his eyes glowed with pleasure when he saw her wearing just her sports bra and she felt his member twitch beneath her. With that distraction Ginny then managed to snag his wand off the table.

"Incarcerous. Levicorpus." She cast the spells to bind him and levitate him. She fell backwards on the floor as he rose up in the air, bound and with wide eyes. She bound his mouth closed and pulled her body suit back on. After putting a firm seal on the door and took a deep breath she went over her next steps. "Somnum." She said with her wand pointed at his head. He fell into a deep sleep, she didn't need his eyes on her anymore.

After taking a moment to collect herself and slow her racing heart she snatched the ledger and ran the spine down his suspended finger so the book would open up. She did a quick check of the wards around the caravan to see that she'd be safe for this next part, then she Apparated to the Australian Head Auror's office.

It was late at night. Head Auror Christien Spellman wasn't there, but she'd been given his floo address for an emergency situation.

One hour later and as many Auror's as possible had been called in to take down the entire Circus. She'd brought Head Auror Spellman directly to Hunter's Caravan and showed him the employee files. There were several wanted criminals in there. Some were for minor infractions, some not so much.

It had been a huge bust, but the ledger had been the real pay dirt.

The Auror's spent hours securing the area and transporting the wanted persons that they'd managed to catch, some had gotten away in the ruckus. It was noon the following day when everything had been taken care of to the point of Ginny being able to find a place to sleep.

After a quick shower at the DMLE's change room she'd strung up a hammock in one of the storage rooms and fell into a deep sleep.

()()()()

Ginny awoke in her hammock feeling pretty rested and made her 'bed' disappear before hitting up the change rooms again for the toilet and another shower. All of her belongings were gone, save for her wand and the body suit, and a jumper that Spellman had lent her before the raid. She had no idea what time it was, but she was starving and headed towards where she thought the DMLE's kitchen would be to scrounge up some food, ignoring any looks she received on the way about her strange outfit.

There were several Auror's and support staff in there already and they all stopped to stare at her when she walked in. At first she was sure it was because her hair must look a mess, and she wasn't exactly wearing Auror robes. Then they started clapping. She couldn't help the blush and small smile that came to her face.

One of the support staff workers came up to her. She looked to be about thirty and had a pleasant, excited air about her. "Judy Carr." She introduced herself excitedly and held out her hand.

"Ginny Weasley."

"I know. It's all anyone had been talking about. You must be pretty happy!" She smiled earnestly and guided Ginny over to a seat.

"Actually, I'm just really hungry." Ginny looked around at the counter and towards the fridge a little desperately.

"Oh!" Judy got back up from her seat and went to the counter and started opening the cupboards. "Let me fix you something." She called over to an Auror nearest the fridge. "Josh, get her something to drink."

"I can-" Ginny started, but Judy held up her hand.

"You should just sit down. Where did you stay last night?"

"Last night?" Ginny asked. "Last night was the raid."

Everyone stared at her again. "That was two nights ago. Wrapped up yesterday." Judy said in concern.

"Oh. I guess I was asleep for longer than I though. Um. One of the supply rooms." Ginny said looking around the room again.

It looked like Judy was making her a sandwich. Everyone else seemed to be having a lunch of some sort. She must have been out for a full twenty-four hours. Judy put a sandwich in front of her and Josh put a drink down. Ginny cast a silent detection spell, they glowed to indicate no spells of contaminants had been made and she nearly inhaled the meal.

Judy joined her at the table and waited patiently. "So, you don't have a place to stay?" She asked after Ginny finished her water.

"Well, no. I was in New Zealand before this and went straight into the mission." She said after gulping down the rest of her drink.

"I have a friend with a spare room, if you'd like me to ask them…" She offered.

"Thanks, but I have no idea what I'm doing as of right now." Ginny hadn't even thought about this part. "I think I need to talk to Head Auror Spellman before I start that kind of conversation."

"Right! Of course." Judy nodded eagerly.

"Do you know if he's in his office?"

"Yeah, he is." Josh had been leaning against the counter. "I'll walk you over."

Ginny thanked Judy and followed Josh out. "She's quite friendly." Ginny commented.

Josh gave Ginny a side smile. "And quite the gossip monger."

"I suspected as much." She nodded tiredly.

"So." Josh stuffed his hands in his pockets. "We've all got loads of work ahead of us with this new break in your case, but the mates were planning on grabbing a Fosters after hours tonight. I imagine you could do with a pint. Chance to get to know some of the crew." He offered. He seemed pretty laid back. Ginny figured she could use 'laid back' right now.

"That sounds great." Ginny admitted. She hadn't had a drink, or let her guard down in months. She felt a little time off was owed to her.

"Great. I'll come find you before we head out." He knocked on Spellman's office and left her there.

She'd given Head Auror Spellman the low down on her breaking her mission protocol before the raid and he'd agreed that the alternative wasn't really an option. He was pleased with how well everything had turned out. With the ledger too they would be able to track down nearly every underground major criminal in the whole of Oceania and some of the Asian island countries too.

He'd admitted that her performance was well beyond his highest expectations. None of the other Aurors on his team would have been able to pull it off, that had been why he branched out to the Kiwi's. They were notorious for adventure sport, and he'd hoped he could snag someone who would have fit in in the circus world.

He asked her to stay on with the Australian Auror team. The information they were pulling from the ledger was likely to keep them busy for at least the next year. Ginny agreed, but with a few conditions. First being that she be given one weeks leave to decompress. Not a big issue since they would need about that long to study the ledger properly and come up with a few plans of attack, and the second being that she be given permission, once she was comfortable with his team, to have the Imperious Curse placed on her as many times as it took for her to break it flawlessly.

That one had caught him off guard. But he agreed. Once she was comfortable enough to allow someone from her new team to cast it on her, she could. And once she mastered that, he had a request for her to train his team on how to do that as well.

That night she went out with a few of the Aurors, and as it turned out, she didn't need to worry about finding a place of her own to sleep that night. Chad, the good-looking Aussie Muggle she met at the bar, was very willing to let her share his bed.

After that she talked to Judy about her friends spare room. Had it been Judy's spare room, Ginny would have turned it down, but Steve-o from the Department of Magical Sports and Games was really laid back. The room was walking distance from the Auror Headquarter building.

Steve-o was cool with her moving in right away. The room already had a bed and a dresser. In the span of one day she figured out her finances, which were doing incredibly well considering the dual salary she'd been pulling with the DMLE and the circus, then had gone shopping for her Auror robes and Muggle clothes. After that she secured a Portkey to make a visit back to New Zealand for a few days.

She'd owled Jake Burke the previous day, and he welcomed her to stay at his for a few days, but so had Jacob, and Jacob was right on the beach in Oamaru. Beach house with no pre-teen girls, no matter how much she loved them, sounded a hell of a lot better. But, she was going to see the Burke family several times over her stay there, and for a big barbecue party.

Ginny's relaxing holiday with her old friends had been just what she'd needed. She hadn't been able to tell them anything about what she'd been doing but they also knew not to ask.

Her next eighteen months were full of little sting operations all over Australia, Tasmania, Papua New Guinea and the like confirming the findings from the ledger. Every mission she'd gone on had required her to be under some kind of disguise in case on of the perpetrators recognized her somehow. She'd done them all with the name 'Cammie' whenever she needed to talk to the suspects, since that was how she'd been known in the circus. And the 'Chameleon' call sign had spread around once more.

It had spread around to more than just the Auror Department. The story of what happened made it through the underground. Some of the more dangerous criminal movements blamed her for Hunter Bastien being locked up. Which was true, but it seemed that Hunter really hadn't discovered her real name, so she let the call sign play out.

Her down time between missions had been pretty fun though. She'd learned to surf and snorkel. There was a local Circus school too. It had taken her a few months to come around to it again, but it was still fun flying on the silks, and an excellent work out. Steve-o got tickets to Quidditch games as part of his job and she'd gone to a few of the Thundelarra Thunder's games, who she liked more than the Woollongong Warriors.

Every time she got a few days off every few months she'd head back to New Zealand and go hiking or just hang out with the Burkes and her other friends. Jake's daughters had taken to calling her Aunt Ginny. She like that, and it had made her remember to check in and see if she was an actual Aunt again.

Bill had another daughter now. Percy had his first child now too. And Charlie had gotten married. That was fairly surprising, she was sure he'd be a bachelor for life, but he'd found a girl in Romania named Anush who'd gotten him to commit. By the time she'd checked the registry it was only two weeks past their wedding date. She sent them a gift.

March 2003 was when the call out for help in the South African Wizarding colony south of Johannesburg happened. There was some dangerous unrest going on in the hidden magical city in the Suikerbosrand Nature Preserve as the Muggles knew it. Ginny and a few of the other Auror's she'd worked closely with all signed up for a six month tour to help with the situation.

()()()


	18. Flirtations

**London- 2004**

The light coming in through the windows hit her full blast.

Attempting to roll over turned out to be a worse choice than laying still. A mournful groan escaped her lips as all of the muscles in her body protested.

She'd blissfully forgotten this part.

While she was in good shape from regular, and irregular, exercise (such as the silks), Combat Apparation was a full on assault to the body. Something she'd forgotten to mention to her training groups.

Whoops.

Her shifting must have jostled Harry awake. He gave a matching groan that brought a small smile to her face, and a slight pain to her head.

Urgh. Her mouth felt like it had been stuffed with off tasting cotton balls.

Harry let out a slow 'Ow' and stretched out beside her on his back.

"Sorry." She whispered. "Forgot this side effect. Do you have any muscle relaxants?" She stretched out a bit to, feeling the pull in her shoulders and calves. "Or a headache remedy?" She hadn't really felt all the Firewhiskey she'd had last night, but it was there tapping on the inside of her skull this morning.

"Muggle ones. In vanity." Was his strained response. "Can't move."

She felt down under her pillow, taking far too much energy, until she found her wand. It took a few tries, but her summoning charms finally pulled through.

They both pulled themselves up to sit against the headboard to take the pills and leaned against each others shoulders, waiting for the drugs to take effect.

"You'll be giving us something not so physically demanding today, right?" Harry pleaded, more than asked.

Ginny chuckled a bit, then regretted it. "Yeah. Not giving anything away, but I'm a little mixed about whether I want you to do well today."

"You want me to do poorly?"

"You'll understand later." She closed her eyes a moment as she tried stretching out her limbs again. "Hmm. I'm going to do a little yoga."

She crawled out of the bed and slipped to the floor to sit with crossed legs beside the bed. Her arms were up in the air over her head when she opened her eyes and saw Harry staring at her with a small relaxed smile on his lips. He was staring at her chest anyways.

She'd thrown on a sporty bra and a pair of comfortable cotton boy short knickers to sleep in. Naked sleeping was lovely and freeing, but after the day and evening she'd had, she needed comforting. As it turned out, Harry was very good at the comforting. He hadn't pried about how she was feeling, and since she wasn't entirely sure how she was feeling, that was one more reason they were working so well together.

There was still so much about her life she hadn't told him. But he hadn't run after the Battle of Hogwarts story, so odds are he would just be amused or enthralled by the rest.

She smiled softly at Harry's attention and moved into downward dog to stretch out her legs.

"I think I like yoga." Harry commented.

That started her laughing just as she was raising up one of her legs and she nearly toppled over. "Harry!" She balanced herself again. "Please remain silent or go make us some breakfast." She admonished good-naturedly .

Ginny heard him huff out a laugh and then there was movement on the mattress as he got up and slowly padded across the room over to her side. "Does that really help?"

She looked up at him from her high lunge. He'd stopped half way across the room, peering down at her, his one arm locked across his chest in his own attempt to work out the kinks.

"I'm no expert at it or anything, but I did get dragged to a class or two and have a little routine that I think helps me quite a bit when I feel like this." Her headache was throbbing slightly less as she moved into her first warrior pose and felt the stretch in the back of her thighs and up her sides.

Harry sat down on the floor at the end of the bed in front of her and copied the movements she did. His face was screwed up in concentration, double checking his position and trying to keep balance.

After she guided him through her five minute routine he stood up and shook out his limbs. "Huh. That is better!"

Ginny smiled at him. "I don't know if it is physically better, or mentally. But, either way it helps a bit so I think it's worth a try every now and then."

He stepped towards her and pulled her into his arms. "Well, I feel better." His expression softened to something else and he kissed her softly. "Do you?"

She knew he wasn't just talking about muscle pain. She gave him a tight hug and stepped back. "Let me brush my teeth, grab a shower and get some food into me first."

()()

When Ginny stepped into the kitchen area there were two bowls at the bar and Harry was just grabbing a mug for her coffee.

"Grabbed yogurt and granola."

She nodded. "Sounds good."

She took a seat at one of the stools and he set down her coffee and took the seat beside her, digging into his own breakfast. After she took a sip of her drink and had a few spoonful's before she just stared at her bowl intensely, playing with the spoon as last nights events slowly creeped to the forefront of her mind. "It still gets my stomach all tied up in knots when I think about it." She told him.

He looked up from his own breakfast and regarded her with sympathetic eyes. "I wouldn't expect that to go away any time soon."

"Probably not."

"They are taking this all pretty hard too." He pointed out.

"Ron seems to have recovered alright." She thought outloud.

He gave her a look. "You didn't see him after your little introduction last Monday."

She worried her lip. "Was it bad?"

He nodded. "For both of us. Worse for him, and he hadn't gotten the whole story yet. He just knew that you had kept your legs crossed at school and became this legendary Auror."

Ginny scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Oh, for fucks sakes." She exasperated and shook her head. "Look. I've been on a few long term undercover assignments that resulted in big busts, but the training shit I'm teaching you all was mostly learned from other Auror's. That hardly makes me legendary." He gave her an amused half smile. "What?"

"You realize you are preaching to the choir here. I'm the Boy Who Lived, The Chosen One, the Conquerors of the Dark Lord. I didn't want all that. I just dealt with what was thrown at me and now I can't walk down Diagon Alley with out being harassed."

Ginny bit her lip to try and lessen her smile. "Yeah. I guess you get it."

He leaned over and kissed her forehead. "I really do."

They dropped the subject of her family and finished up with their breakfast. Ginny took the empty bowls to the sink.

"Did you get in touch with your mentor in New Zealand yet?"

"Jake? No. Not yet. Though I should drop him a line today. Something along the lines of 'I know you had a part in this.' And threaten to be his problem again shortly."

"Threaten?"

"Oh, he'll be thrilled." She assured him. "When I went on 'loan' to Australia neither of us expected me to be gone this long."

"You think they'd take you on right away? Or me?"

She shrugged. "Pretty sure. They don't have many that opt to be Auror's in Kiwi land. Having two fully trained Auror's join the ranks would be a very good thing. I um… I actually was wondering if you'd be okay with a month off or something. I haven't taken a holiday, a proper one, for a few years now."

"I'd love that!" Harry jumped in. "I haven't really had one myself since helping Hermione find her parents in Australia after the war. And even then, travelling with Ron and Hermione isn't exactly restful."

He came around the counter and placed his hands on her hips. "I meant it last night, you know."

Her brow knit together in confusion a moment, then she understood. "Yeah?" She beamed.

"Yeah." He rested his forehead on hers. "I love you."

Her chest rose as she sucked in a deep breath at those words. "I love you too." She tilted her head up to kiss him. "Doesn't this seem to be happening quite fast?"

"I don't care." He kissed her again. "And picturing you in the pond in your wet knickers got me through many a night in my sixth year. And while I was on the run. I'm counting all that as time spent in this relationship." Her jaw dropped and eyes grew wide at his admission. "Hell, it still provided me with some, uh, material after that too. So I guess I see this as a long time coming, and not something new."

"Christ Harry!" She laughed. "Although" She blushed. "If we're sharing these stories now, I have to admit… the first guy I slept with I chose specifically because he reminded me of you."

"Oh really?" He raised an eyebrow at her and pulled her in closer. "How did he compare?"

"Hmm, I prefer the real thing." She grabbed his jaw firmly in one hand. "And you are much better with your tongue." His eyes darkened and she felt him grow hard against her. "Down boy. We have time for that later."

He pouted and she gave him one final kiss before pulling away and turning back to the sink to clean their dishes.

"Uh. You were serious about me moving my things in here, right?"

"Of course. Actually" He finished off his tea and put his cup down on the sink beside her. "I'll go move some things around in the closet." He kissed her on the cheek and slapped her on the bum. She squeaked in surprise. That wasn't completely in character for him. "That was for your teasing." He kissed her cheek again and grinned brightly at her before heading to the bedroom.

She grinned to herself and finished off her coffee, cleaning that cup too before grabbing her bag and pulling out her shrunken clothes and following him into the bedroom.

He stepped out of the bathroom, still brushing his teeth and led her over to the dresser, silently pulling open two empty drawers and pointing at the three foot section in his walk in closet he'd made available for her. His eyebrows up in question as to whether that was enough.

"Thanks, but I'm pretty sure I'll only be able to fill the one drawer." She admitted, shaking her head.

He smiled and shrugged, still working his toothbrush, and headed back into the bathroom.

()()()()

The bull pen was a little more occupied than it had been as of late. The noise level was at a nice dull roar of white noise that was helping Harry focus. He'd finished up a few of his reports and done up an outline of what he was going to tell Head Auror Scrimgeour about his plans. And the time frame for when he'd planned to implement those plans.

This was a little nerve wracking.

Being an Auror was his first job. He'd been fast tracked through the academy with Ron, and had worked here ever since.

Oh crap.

And Ron was leaving too.

Though.

He'd had more desk work than ever for the past year or so.

Would the two of them really be missed?

And Ron wasn't even signing up for the long term missions any more because of Hermione.

"Hey." Harry jumped slightly and turned to see Blaise.

"Hey." Harry was confused. "Shouldn't you be in training right now?" He and Draco had been moved to the morning class on Tuesday to even out the numbers.

"Nope. Got an Owl when I arrived. Numbers shrunk again due to some 'incidents' first thing this morning." They both snickered. "You can really see the family resemblance with the twins there."

Draco came over at that point. "We've got private sessions in ten." He told Blaise. "What happened yesterday?" He turned to ask Harry with a conspiratorial smirk on his face.

Harry cringed. "It… was intense. I mean. I know I'm basically part of their family, but." He didn't need to continue that train of thought out loud. They both understood that Ginny's actual family had abandoned her, and Harry wasn't part of that, heir-go- he did not write her off like they did.

"We went to the Burrow last night. Just Ron, Hermione and I with her. Her parents and Percy were there. I think it went pretty good."

"Details." Blaise pushed eagerly. "Did she cry?"

"If she did, do you really think I'd tell you? I like my bollocks where they are thank you very much."

"Bet she likes them where they are too." Draco waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Harry couldn't help but grin in response. "Shouldn't you two be headed to the conference room?" He politely gestured for them to go away.

"Sure, sure. We'll go keep her occupied." Blaise winked. Harry grabbed a crumpled piece of parchment from his desk and threw it at him.

He turned back to his notes for how he was going to tell his boss he was leaving indefinitely.

How was he going to tell his boss he was leaving indefinitely? What was he going to do with his flat? Not get rid of it. That would be much too impetuous. But maybe Ron and Hermione wanted to live there instead of their little rental. It would help them save up for a home quicker. And with their planning for a baby.

And if things with Ginny went tits up after a month, fingers crossed against that, it had the second bedroom. He'd lived with the two of them before.

He rubbed his hands over his face.

This was a lot.

But he wanted it.

It was an adventure of the fun kind, not the thriller kind.

He'd been going day to day since he could remember, never really having done anything new or exciting. He'd had enough excitement in his teens, he'd needed a break. Now he wanted a break form that break.

He tapped his pen on the paper a few times and glanced over at Scrimgeour's office. His door was open, which meant he was available.

Harry stood up and made his way to the office. It seemed to take three times as long to get there than usual.

This was entirely nerve wracking.

How was Scrimgeour going to react? Laugh? Yell? Or worst of all, look disappointed.

He could take just about anything but disappointment.

While Scrimgeour wasn't exactly his mentor, he still respected the man.

Harry knocked lightly on the door and the Head Auror looked up at him from his desk.

"What do you need?"

Harry stepped in silently and closed the door. Greyson's eyebrows went up and knit together slight. Harry came to the seat in front of the desk and sat down.

"Potter? What is it?" He asked with a concerned voice.

"I want to do some travelling." Harry managed. The Head Auror said nothing, just stared. So he continued on. "I've only ever been out of the U.K. once, and it was not a vacation. I've been working here steadily since I started, hardly ever took time off and signed up for every mission I could. Now I'd like to travel."

"For how long?" He asked slowly.

"I don't know."

"Are you quitting, or just asking for a vacation, or leave of absence?"

"I was thinking of taking a month off and then working for a different ministry as an Auror for a while."

Harry saw Scrimgeour's hand clench into a fist on his desk and me made an unintentional cluck noise with his mouth. He then let out a huff. "I should have foreseen this."

Harry was confused. "You think you should have known I'd leave?"

He shook his head. "I didn't know who the Chameleon was before Monday last week. I'd been the one spreading some of the stories around. Making sure you'd all be impressed and take the training seriously. I was as shocked as the rest of you when I found out not only that the Chameleon was a she, but that she was Ron Weasley's little sister.

"Hell, I didn't even know Ron had a sister. The stories I told were true. She's got a hell of a lot of experience under her cloak, and at such a young age." He sighed and swiped his brow once. "I should have known at least one of my best Auror's would want to give it a go. Work in a different country, get more experience and what not."

Harry shrugged. "That is part of it." He admitted.

The Head Auror nodded. "When and where?" He asked evenly.

"End of next week." Harry said carefully. "And… New Zealand."

Scrimgeour froze, staring dumbstruck. "Why New Zealand?" He didn't look angry about it, but asked slowly, more as if he was wanting to confirm his theory.

Harry desperately fought to keep the blush off of his face. "I think you guessed that answer."

He lips pursed his lips a moment, then closed his eyes and shook his head as his mouth relaxed into an amused smile. "Well damnit." He actually chuckled. "Really?" He asked in awe. "You and she?"

"It hasn't interfered with the training, and she's still made a few attempts to send me to St. Mungo's."

"I'm just in a little bit of shock." He looked through Harry with unseeing eyes. "Well… okay then."

"Okay then?" Harry asked, confused with the answer.

"Well, you aren't on contract or anything. Nothing I can do to stop you from leaving. A week isn't much notice, but I'll take it. And if you need a recommendation." He smirked. "If taking down a dark lord at seventeen years-old isn't good enough for your new employer."

Harry gave a tight smile in response.

"Well. Finish up your next two days of training then. I'll have some personnel paperwork for you to fill out. Meanwhile. Get back to work."

Harry stood up and didn't know whether to shake his hand or not. He opted to not, and just nodded and left the office with the door open.

Stepping into the corridor he walked straight into Ron.

"Hey!"

"Hey."

"I was looking for you mate! I got it. I got the job." Ron was grinning ear to ear. "I'm just going to give my notice. They want me to start in two weeks. Sooner if Scrimgeour is cool with it." He glanced at the office. "Really nervous about it."

Harry felt the over whelming urge to laugh. Out of relief and irony. "Well. Good luck." He clapped him on the back. "And we'll talk after, yeah?"

He definitely had quite a bit to discuss with him. Ron nodded and gave a hard swallow.

On the way back to his desk he saw through the conference room window, Blaise was doing an awkward sort of dance. It took a moment to realize he was probably under the Imperious.

For some reason Harry just assumed he and Draco would have already been skilled at breaking that curse. With Draco's father who he was and Blaise being in Slytherin.

Although, that was a pretty wild assumption.

It didn't take long after he sat down at his desk for Ron to finish up with Scrimgeour and make a bee line for him.

"Interrogation Room. Now." Ron snapped and plowed on into the small room Ginny had used with Hall the other day.

Harry gave a sigh and stood up to follow his best mate.

Ron was pacing at the far end. Before Harry had finished shutting the door Ron blew up. "WHAT THE BLOODY HELL MATE?!"

Harry sighed and double checked the ward so no one outside the room could hear them.

Ron continued. "Yesterday I find out you've been shagging Ginny. Now you're bloody running away with her? - What! -Why? – How. Holy shit mate! And when were you going to tell us? Why did I have to hear this from Scrimgeour?" Ron had stopped pacing and rested his fists on the table, staring red-faced at Harry.

"My turn?" Harry asked him calmly.

Ron was silent.

"I know, okay? But I love being with her. This whole last week and a bit has been amazing. I've been with other girls before, and not a single one of them made me think it would be nice to come home to day after day. I know I've never said it before, but I want what you and Hermione have. A partnership. I see that with her."

"But-"

Harry raised his hand. "It isn't just that either. She's been telling me about all these amazing experiences she's had since she's left. Non-work related. She's travelled, climbed mountains, gone snorkeling and had proper life experiences. I've done nothing but work and go out to the pub. Sat back and watched you and the rest of your brothers getting married and starting families, and I don't want to just sit back anymore. She's just. She's opened my eyes mate." Harry sat down across from him.

Ron looked like he was taking it all in slowly.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you first. I should have." Ron was still just sitting thee with his eyebrows knit together. "I also kind of figured it was perfect timing with you moving to a new department. And with you and Hermione wanting to start a family."

"How does you leaving the country relate to me and Hermione starting a family?"

"Well, I was wondering what to do about my place." Harry said slowly. "You two are so cramped where you are, and the cost of a flat in London is astronomical, especially when you're saving for a house too…"

"What?" Ron's jaw dropped. "You want us to move into your place?"

"Well, it's completely paid for, so there'd be no rent. You'd just need to take care of the hydro bill and the like."

"You'd give us your place!?"

"Just until you save up enough and find a place of your own." Harry clarified. "I'd still own it. You guys would just live there. And if all this turns out to be a horrible mistake, then there's still the second bedroom I can move back into."

"Your place is big. And super nice!"

"I know. Try not to destroy it, yeah?" Harry smirked.

Ron grinned a moment, then it dropped off his face. "But you'd be gone for… how long?"

Harry shook his head. "I have no idea. Kind of flying by the seat of my pants here. A year? Two? Indefinitely?"

"I'll… miss you." A small sad cloud passed over the two of them. They'd barely spent more than two months apart at a time since they'd first met. When he left with Ginny next week he had no idea how long he'd be gone for.

"Mum!" Ron said suddenly.

"What?"

"My mum! She'd going to go nutty if the two of you leave. She already sent me a Howler this morning for not telling her about Ginny."

"She sent you a Howler?"

Ron shrugged it off. "It's her processing."

"Hermione explain that to you?"

Ron's ears tinged red. "Yes." He admitted. Harry snickered. "Shut up." He shook his head. "Anyways. You have to tell them. I'm not going to get the blame for that too."

"She didn't blame you for, you know, anything else, did she?"

Ron sighed. "A bit about the, um, prostitution thing. Said I shouldn't have thought the worst of my own sister."

"But everyone had, not just you."

"Hermione didn't."

"Hermione wasn't as hurt by the changes in Ginny that your family was. You all had been there for her for ten years, and Tom Riddle had turned her into this awful, nasty person. You were all hurt. Then with the other misunderstandings, it just kept escalating."

"I understand that now. I think we're all just going over everything that happened. All the incidents. And just kicking ourselves for not seeing it."

"You seem to be doing okay now."

"Yeah. I don't think she and I are going to be good friends any time soon, but we've been getting on okay… in our limited time together." Ron looked down at his hands. "How did she seem? Last night?"

Harry thought it over. She'd been upset, but hand't said anything about it. "She was just quiet."

"Quiet is bad in my family."

"She hasn't been a part of your family for a while. And she spend seven years in silence at school. Quiet isn't a bad thing for her."

There was no more to say between them. Each man sat there in contemplative silence.

Ron was the first to stand up. "We're going for a pint after work."

"Okay."

()()()()()

Ginny had just excused Malfoy and Zabini for lunch when her father arrived at the meeting room door.

"Hello." He awkwardly waved.

"Hello." Ginny replied cautiously. "What are you doing here?"

"I. I know you'll only be here for a little longer, and I was hoping I could spend more time with you."

"I have some work I have to do over lunch. I don't really have the time right now."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out some delicious smelling take-out containers. "A peace offering?" He placed them down in front of her on the desk. "I could just sit here with you while you so your work." He gestured to the chair on the other side of her table. "I brought Pad Thai." He pulled out two pairs of chopsticks and offered her one. "I don't know if you like it, but…"

She studied his face a moment before slowly reaching out and accepted the utensils.

He smiled gratefully. "You can do a detection charm if you want."

She locked eyes with him again , unsure, but cast a silent detection charm spell anyways.

He didn't look offended. He relaxed slightly and took up in the chair.

Arthur said nothing while they began eating. She went through the papers on her desk, organizing them and making notations. When she ran out of paperwork she regarded him properly.

He'd been looking at her this whole time. Now she returned the favour. He was loosing his hair. And the hair he did have was lightening to grey. The lines on his face were deeper than she'd ever remembered, and his skin on his cheeks and under chin wasn't quite so tight anymore. He's always had this half amused twinkle in his eye when she was a little girl. It had always been there when he was asking about everyone's day. It had made her feel special when he'd turn to her specifically with that twinkle in his eye.

It wasn't there anymore. His eyes were sad and tentative. And hopeful.

"I'm here for an extra week." She told him finally.

His eyebrows went up slightly. "Extended your contract?"

"No." She ate another mouthful of her food. "I'll be doing basically nothing next week."

He nodded. "Will you come to the Burrow again?"

She searched him over for what he was truly asking. "I'd rather meet mum somewhere else first, before I go back there again."

"We are going to have the family over for lunch on Sunday. If." He took a breath. "If you meet her, us, somewhere else first, will you come? To the lunch?"

"The rest of the family will be there?" She tried not to cringe.

"Yes. Except. Well, um, Charlie might be able to come home with Anush if we tell him…"

Ginny pushed the rest of her food away. "I've been through a few war zones. I think I can manage this. May as well get it over with." She couldn't explain the emotions behind her words.

"Ginny."

"Look. I appreciate the lunch, and the effort to reconnect or whatever. I'd been putting off seeing you all while I've been here. And Ron and Harry wouldn't have been able to tell you about it by the way. But, Jake… um, my mentor, friend, whatever. He's been pushing me to get in touch with you for years. I can't very well go back to him and say I hadn't tried. He'd never let me hear the end of it."

"Is that the only reason?" He put down his own food container.

"The only one I'm comfortable admitting to right now." She answered honestly.

"Your mum sent Ron a Howler this morning." He gave a small smile.

"That wife of yours has a temper." Ginny mused.

"I seem to recall you being quite the little terror when you were running around trying to keep up with your brothers." He started to smile at the memory, then stopped when he remembered they hadn't recognized the change in her when she went to school. She'd been so cold to them.

"That day. When your mother and I were called into the Headmasters office about your behavior, and you walked in."

"When was this?" She asked.

His brow knit together. "A few months after you started school?"

Ginny sat up straight. This was the first time someone from her family had mentioned interacting with her during her blank period.

"You were so closed off. Seemed so… aristocratic. You'd basically sneered at us when you saw us there." His lips puckered slightly with a sad pout at the memory. "You'd told us that now you knew how the other half lived, you couldn't believe we'd let you live like a vagrant for so long."

Ginny was desperate to know more.

Tom had to have done more than that.

"Albus had stepped in and told you you'd been incredibly lucky to grow up so loved. You said that being constantly compared to your brothers and kept around to do household chores isn't love. But you thanked us for sending you off to get a proper education. It had certainly opened your eyes about a few things."

"What did you do then?"

"You really don't remember?" He asked quietly.

"It really wasn't me." She told him. "I have no memories from the Hogwarts Express to the middle of the following May."

"Nothing?" He asked, surprised.

"I managed to escape once. I was in a corridor and bumped into some bigger kid, then when I bent down to pick up my belongings I touched the Horcrux again and was back under his control."

He drew in a deep breath. "I'm so sorry Ginny. I'm so sorry we never figured it out."

"What's done is done." She only gave a half attempt at placating him on that.

"Doesn't make me feel any less awful."

"I'm not going to tell you not to, if that's what you're looking for."

"It isn't." He assured her. "Can we have dinner together tonight? Where are you staying?"

With that illusion to a request of dinner together, an idea popped into her head. A nice way to test her parents a little bit. "I'm renting a room in a Muggle flat."

"Really?" He gave her a bit of his eye twinkle at that.

"My roommate works nights and is completely inept in the kitchen. I'll let her know you and mum will come by around six." She told him. "If that works for you?"

"Yes! That would be lovely. Thank you."

"Bridgette is a Muggle. So mum should wear a dress. Not dress robes. You need trousers and a shirt if you want to look like a Muggle." She explained.

He gave a small chuckle. "I assure you, Harry has clued me in over the years. We will dress appropriately."

She nodded. "Bridgette knows there has been a rift with me and my family. Not what that rift is. She's only guessed."

"Okay." He stood up. "Thank you Ginny." He headed for the door, and stopped to turn back to her. "Um. Your mum will probably wind up bringing food."

Ginny felt a tug at the corners of her lips. "Probably."

()()()()

Harry was just returning from a call out when he saw Arthur Weasley leaving the meeting room. His pseudo father didn't look distressed after what was obviously a lunch with his estranged daughter. He looked rather pleased actually.

As they passed each other Arthur smiled and clapped Harry on the back. Harry returned a hesitant smile.

It wasn't like Ginny had fallen apart yesterday, but he highly doubted she'd be at the point of inviting her dad for a casual lunch date.

Checking the clock he saw there was ten minutes before the training session. He went into the meeting room and found Ginny on her phone. She glanced up when he came in and gave him a small smile then finished punching the numbers on her cell.

"Hey." She put her phone down.

"Hey. I, uh. Saw your dad just left."

"Thought as much. He brought me lunch."

"He seemed relatively pleased when he walked out. It went well?"

She paused. "It was awkward, but not awful. I may have invited him and mum to dinner at my place."

His eyes went wide. "Yours? That's big." He almost told her he was proud of her for it, but thought that might sound like he was infantilizing her.

She fidgeted slightly. "I was just leaving a text for Bridgette about it. Because she's going to be there."

His brow furrowed slightly. "Why do you say that like it's a bad thing? Bridgette is really nice."

Ginny nodded slowly. "She is nice. She's great. But she knows I'm estranged, and I know she's going to find a way to make them uncomfortable. And… I kind of want to let her." She bit her lip.

Harry thought about it. Bridgette could easily make them uncomfortable. His first interaction with her she was like a mamma bear getting in his face to protect Ginny from emotional harm. And what she did for a living, and that was one of the false rumors spread about Ginny. Harry couldn't control a bubble of laughter picturing her mum and dad trying to make heads or tails of Bridgette and Ginny living together.

Ginny grinned at his reaction. "You don't think I'm being malicious or anything?"

Harry shook his head and came to sit on the table across from hers. "I think you're testing them. And you'll be more comfortable if they were uncomfortable."

"Hit the nail on the head there." She leaned back in her chair and raised her arms over her head in a stretch.

"Why do you still look so worried?"

"It's just that, say things do wind up going good between my parents and I. Like if at the end of the night we hug it out." She rolled her eyes. "I still have four other brothers that need to know the truth. It's so daunting."

"And they'll all be at lunch on Sunday."

"Yeah. Part of me just wants to take a two-hour Polyjuice and go as your new girlfriend. Then I could see them and not have them know it was me they were being nice to."

"Two-hour Polyjuice?"

Ginny lowered her arms abruptly and her eyes threw off a flash of panic.

"There's a Polyjuice that lasts for two hours?" He asked confused. He'd never heard of such a thing.

"Harry. I can't have you repeating that." She said seriously. "I can't believe I mentioned it out loud. Its. It was my last case before I came back here, and technically that information is solely controlled by the American Ministry. I don't know what they plan to do with it, or if it will become public."

"But. It's just a potion. One that's been tweaked to last twice as long."

"Yes. And think of everything you can accomplish in an hour." She paused and gave him a wide eyed stare. "Now double that."

"Right. But if you keep taking the one-hour potion every hour, then what's the difference?"

"A standard meeting for, say, the Wizengamut goes for and hour and a half before they have a break. They disallow consumption of potions at those meetings. They'd have to change their rules, and that is just the start. And before this modified potion was discovered, it was only the deep underground criminals knew about it. The caused quite a bit of havoc with it."

"In America?"

"I'm sure other places as well."

"Do you know how its made?" He asked astounded.

She didn't give him a straight answer. He knew after he'd asked that, that it was a stupid question. Of course she knew it, and wouldn't be sharing it with anyone.

"Training starts in a minute." She let his question hang.

"Guess I probably don't have time for a kiss." He tried to lighten the mood.

It worked. He saw her eyes brighten before she rolled them.

"Take your seat Potter."

()()

Draco and Blaise were the first to come in after lunch. The rest followed until the class was full. They were back up to nineteen now.

"We're going to have some fun today." Ginny told them from the front. "When doing missions under cover you need the ability to put people at ease and have them trust you. Sometimes this involves seducing them for information." That caused everyone in the session to sit up and listen a little more carefully. "I won't be giving you tips and tricks on this. Everyone has their own style when it comes to this. What works for Auror Lupin won't work for Auror Finnegan.

"I'll be setting a challenge for you all. We are heading into Camden Market. Yes. With the Muggles, and you will all need to successfully interact with individuals there. I don't care if you are married or in a relationship. I'm not asking you to take someone home, or even kiss them. You'll all have two hours to try and get ten phone numbers."

Harry took a look around the room. He was astonished at this type of training.

Ron looked pale in horror, but the consensus seemed to be that most were eager to start.

"Here are the rules." Ginny interrupted their excitement. "One- You need ten phone numbers. Two- At least a third of those numbers have to be from the gender you are not actually inclined to shag."

Mouths dropped open at that point.

"What?!" Ron burst out.

Ginny looked annoyed, but more with her answer as to the why, than it being asked. "there are a few in here that are just entirely too pretty. People as a whole are vain. I am sure there'd be some bimbo's willing to write their name on their own knickers for a few men in the room, and the women in here need merely wink at men to get information, thus, rule two is to make it an actual challenge."

Ron still looked worried, but couldn't argue with the logic behind her reasoning.

"Rule three- No magic, or morphing." She looked specifically at Dora, who smiled brightly at her. "You can keep the hair colour, but everything else stays the same."

"How will you know if we actually get the numbers, and didn't just make them up?" Porpington asked.

"Remember your trip into the Muggle world last week? I have my ways." She raised her eyebrows. "Rule four- You have to stay inside the Camden Market area. Now, I will be throwing a wrench into your attempts every now and then too. Just to see how you stay in character and think on your feet." She gave a mischievous smirk.

"It is 1:15 now, you have until 3:45. Let the games begin."

()()()

Harry stood up and pulled Ron to his feet. "Come on. It won't be that bad." He chuckled.

"But. I'm married! And straight!" Ron protested quietly as they left.

"You aren't actually going to cheat. Just flirt."

"I've never flirted! And I've already put in my notice. Maybe now I shouldn't be in the training."

Harry's steps faltered at that. "Wow. You're really terrified about this."

"Well. It took me three years to finally get Hermione and in that time I did zero flirting. I certainly won't need to do any in my new position. I'm going to bow out." He decided. "I'll go talk to Scrimgeour now."

Harry watched in surprise as Ron continued past his desk to the Head Auror's office. Ron was so lucky he found Hermione. He'd be completely useless on the dating scene.

The rest of the group was leaving and Harry headed out with them. He popped home first to change into something more appropriate for Camden Town. Board shorts and a branded t-shirt. If he was going to try and get phone numbers he would need a pen as well. There was one in his junk drawer that still worked. He popped it in his back pocket with his wallet he had for trips to the Muggle world, and Apparated to an alley across from the market.

He was kind of nervous.

He'd never hit on a guy before.

Then again, the objective was to get phone numbers, not necessarily to hit on people to get them. Maybe there was a work around.

He went into the market and up Gin Alley. It was always bustling in here, packed full of tourists. He was checking around for someone to start with when he spotted a cute barista girl at a coffee shop.

Perfect.

She smiled shyly as he went over to her.

"Hi."

"Hi. What can I get for you?" She gave him a 'I work in customer service' smile.

"What do you recommend?"

"Well, it is a rather hot one today. Maybe an iced coffee, or Italian soda?"

"Yeah. It's definitely." He let her see him checking her out. "Hot." She blushed. "The Italian soda, what's your favorite flavor?"

"Watermelon Kiwi."

He rested his crossed arms on the display case. "Sounds delicious, I'll take one." She set about getting it for him. "Are you working here all day?"

"Until six." She was giving him flirty looks now.

"I'm Harry."

"Stacy."

"Would you mind writing that on my cup?"

She paused. "What?"

"I think you should maybe write your name on my cup. And maybe some numbers as well." He did his best to suppress the feeling like he was cheating on Ginny, and gave Stacy a coy smile with his eyebrows raised in a slightly pleading way.

She giggled and rung him up. He handed her over a five pound note, and she handed back a take away cup with her name and eleven digits.

"Bye Stacy." He winked.

One down.

Moving on he went further into the Market and saw a girl at a tourist shop looking at postcards. She was fairly attractive as well.

"Here on business or pleasure?"

She jumped.

"Sorry!" He laughed slightly. "Didn't mean to startle you!"

"No! It's fine. I wasn't paying attention." She had an American accent. "Here for pleasure. Travelling a bit before I settle down into adulthood." She wore a pair of tinted glasses, but he could make out her blue eyes behind them.

"Just graduated Uni then?"

"Yep." She smiled brightly. "USC."

"Which stands for…" He mused.

"Right. University of Southern California."

"Well, congratulations. How long are you set to experience London for?"

"Two more days"

"Been here long?"

"This is my third day."

"Well, if you'd like a guided tour from a local…"

"Wow. Right to it then? You haven't even asked my name yet."

"Whether your name is Gertrude or Amanda, you'll still be a pretty girl with a sweet and adventurous air about her."

Her eyes grew wide at his come on. "Whoa. You have game. Alright. I'll play along." She tapped her chin. "I'm going to call you… William. Now then, William. I'm free tomorrow, but I have a tour booked today for the Thames." She reached into her back and pulled out a slip of paper. "I got a phone for while I'm travelling." She wrote her number. Then as she handed it to him she narrowed her eyes and held tight as he went to take it from her. "Just know, I may have been forced to leave my gun at home, but I do have pepper spray if you try anything funny."

He put his hands up. "I will be a perfect gentleman." She let go of the paper. "I'll talk to you later…" He checked the paper, that turned out to be a receipt. "Cynthia." She beamed brightly at him. "My name is actually Harry."

"Uh!" She gasped falsely. "My next guess. Knew it would be one prince or the other."

He laughed and continued down the laneway with a small wave goodbye. That was actually clever.

Two down.

By the time he'd landed his fifth number it was pushing 2:30. He'd come across a few of his co-workers and gave them encouraging nods. When he rounded one corner he caught a glimpse of red and stopped to turn his attention towards it.

It was Ginny. She was leaning against a wall watching across the way. He followed her eye line and saw Draco chatting up a woman. Harry stood still, observing her, observing him.

Just when it looked like Draco was about to close the deal she stormed over to him looking outraged.

"Hey!" Ginny exclaimed loudly, then slapped Draco across the face. "That's for giving me Chlamydia you bastard!" Then she stormed off again.

The woman Draco had been talking to hurried away from him while he stood there clutching his cheek with a surprised, but mildly amused expression.

Meanwhile, Harry's side was hurting from trying not to laugh as uproariously as he wanted to that moment.

()()

There was a pub on the waterfront that had a football game going.

One seat was free next to a guy that looked fairly interested in the game. "Good game?" Harry asked him.

"Eh. Decent enough. Think my league could play against either and be fair off though."

Harry saw an in there. "You in a league around here?"

"Yeah. Play seven a side on Wednesday's."

"Been meaning to join one! Always get busy and forget to check into it. Your team need any Sweepers? Or any Defender positions really." He said a silent thank you to Dean Thomas for never shutting up about football for the six years they roomed together.

"Mine, no. Got a mate of mine might need one though." The guy offered.

"Mind if-" Harry was cut off by a hand grazing over his shoulder and down his torso.

"Hey babe." Ginny. She was trying to trip him up.

"Hey love." If she thought she was going to mess this up, she had another thing coming.

"What's going on here? Didn't interrupt anything, did I?" She asked coyly.

"Was just going to grab a pint while I waited for you." He answered smoothly and turned back to the guy. "Mind if I grab you number to get some info on the league from you later? I'm pretty sure if I don't get on a team soon, I'll wind up gaining a stone."

The guy shrugged and wrote out his info on a napkin.

Harry smirked at Ginny as they left. "Never said we needed to approach this romantically."

She nodded her defeat at that one. "True, I didn't."

"You look like you're having fun."

"I am!" She answered giddily, with a little skip in her step. "I've slapped three of them, scared off eight girls by claiming 'That's my husband'. And when Zabini was hitting on a guy, I fake cried and told him he'd promised he was only experimenting that one time!"

Harry was nearly crying he was laughing so hard.

"Get any of the girls yet?"

"Tried to get Lupin. She's good though. When she isn't tripping over things she's really good on her feet!" She shook her head. "Stopped Porpington from getting a number though." She pulled a serious face. "Our kids are in day care together and they all got a horrible stomach bug. Up to my ears cleaning up the vomit and diarrhea. That story scared away her suitor."

"How do you come up with this?"

"I planned it out ahead of time." She told him, as though it was obvious. "Plus, I've heard the kid thing from my coworkers who've told me all the gory details. I really didn't want to hear them."

They'd come to a stop and their bodies were only a few inches a part. He forgot for a moment that they were on the clock, and bent his head to give her a kiss.

Luckily Ginny remembered where they were, and what they were doing and took a step back from him, casually detaching her arm from where it was tucked around his.

"Right." Harry came to his own. It had felt so natural, and she was exuding this energy that just pulled him in. He loved it when she smiled like that, and when she was just so breezily happy. "Well." He cleared his throat. "I have four more numbers to get, so you go do your thing."

She bit her lip, looking as though she very much would have liked to forget where they were and what they were doing as well. But she turned and walked away from him with an extra sway in her hips and a backwards wave.

()()()

By 3:30 Harry was just shy one number. He'd need it to be a male number too, but he'd seceded in defeat and went back to the office.

The training room had about fifteen of them in it.

"How'd you do?" Seamus asked.

"Nine. Two guys."

"Not bad. I got all of mine. Apparently I clean up as well with the guys as the girls." He grinned.

"Ha. Good for you. How long ago did you get here?"

"Eh. Better part of an hour."

"Holy crap! How'd you pull that off?"

"Found a bachelorette party. The bridesmaids found me charming." He gave a winning smile. "Then went to a bear cave, easy enough."

"Bear cave?"

"Gay bar."

Harry couldn't believe how incredibly comfortable Seamus was with all this; going to prostitutes, clubbing until dawn and hooking up, now gay bars.

"Ginny manage to mess you up at all?"

"No." He said confused." Didn't even see her. She get you?"

"She tried. Didn't work though."

"She tripped me up."Matthews joined in. "She called me this weird name, like Hero the Terrible, or something. Said she knew me from the Dungeons and Dragons event? No idea what that is, but it scared off the girl I was chatting up quick enough."

Seamus and Harry both shrugged. Must have been a Muggle thing.

The rest of the session arrived back and Ginny was the last through the door.

He saw her do a check mentally of the returnee's. "Anyone seen Ron?"

"Be bowed out." Harry told her. "Gave his notice this morning about a transfer to Games and Sports."

Ginny expressed her surprise, then a slow smirk came over her. "He was too scared to do this one, wasn't he?"

"Can't do anything to upset the wife." Harry joked. "And he'd be crap at this."

Everyone gave a chuckle.

"As good a reason as any." Ginny laughed. "Alright. Everyone pull out your numbers you collected. If you got the number from a person in a non-romantic way, put an F by the number. If it was a romantic way, put a heart and write your name, and the name you told the person."

"What are you going to do with them?" Blaise asked.

Ginny pulled out her phone from their Muggle Day challenge. "I have a few calls to make. You should never leave someone waiting for the phone to ring." She said with mock seriousness.

"Now, were any of you uncomfortable when you started this?" A few hands went up. "Did it get easier the more you did it?" There was a consensus of agreement on that. "Good. You never know what you might need to do on a mission. This is a skill you should have, just in case."

"You could call it the James Bond method."Porpington offered. The joke didn't land with most of the room. She was one of only four Muggleborns in the room. Harry got it though, and smiled.

"I hope you all had as much fun as I did with this one. It was really nice slapping a lot of you. Some I've wanted to do that to for years." She smirked at her fellow Slytherins. "Tomorrow, you all need to be here for nine in the morning. It will be my last day, afterwards I'll be pulling you into a meeting one by one along with the Head Auror to go over your individual performances after the training session."

"She's quite fun." Seamus said walking out with Harry. "All the training sessions have been really great! Definitely going to practice Combat Apparation until I get it right."

"Yeah. That one was great. The Healer one was really useful too." Harry agreed.

"They've all been pretty useful." Dora jumped in. "All these skills could be make or break for a lot of situations we get stuck in. Wish Auror's had been taught to break the Imperious Curse before the past two wars."

"Today wasn't quite a useful as the other sessions." Draco joined them.

"Depends on who you're talking to." Harry pointed out.

"Yeah. Ron bowed out, and Matthews only managed one number, and he was pretty sure it was fake and out of pity more than anything." Seamus told him.

"Think Malfoy here is just upset because he got slapped." Dora went to pinch Draco's cheek.

He just scowled at her half-heartedly and walked away towards his desk.

She turned back to Seamus and Harry. "We should all take Ginny out for a drink tomorrow. It being her last day and all."

"I'm in!" Seamus on the opportunity.

"There was no doubt in my mind." She rolled her eyes at him and turned to Harry. "What about you?"

"I'm there." He grinned. In his head he was already picturing he and Ginny a few drinks in and shocking everyone with some PDA. She wouldn't be working under the Ministry contract then. Maybe she'd be okay with it.

()()()()

Ginny had to wake up Bridgette when she got home by jumping on her bed.

"Huh! Wazzapinin?"

"I sent you a message earlier!" Ginny sat down. Chantal hadn't stayed over, so she had space to rest against the wall. "My parents are coming over for dinner." Ginny let that sink in.

Bridgette stared at her blankly for a full 30 seconds before comprehension dawned in her eyes. "You saw them last night?! When was the last time you'd even spoken to them?"

"Seven, no, eight years ago."

"And they're coming here?"

"Yep."

"Do you want me to stay?"

"Yes."

"Do you want me to be nice?" She asked with distaste on her face.

Ginny grinned at that. "I want you to be exactly who you are." She tapped her nose.

Ginny went to get up and start in on dinner.

"Wait, Ginny." She stopped her. "What happened between you guys? I never asked before, because it wasn't my business. But, well. You're kind of making it my business now."

Ginny sighed and fiddled with the door knob. "It was a series of misunderstandings and lack of communication." Ginny told her as evasively as she could. "They aren't bad people. They just believed rumors about me, and kind of… ignored me?"

"Were the rumors true?"

"No." Ginny said sadly.

"Was Harry with you when you saw them yesterday?"

"Yes."

"Good."

Ginny stood there a moment longer until Bridgette got up and gave her a hug. "I'm really going to miss you when you leave"

Ginny sunk into her embrace, relishing in the comfort and support of her friend. They'd only known each other for near a month, but they'd bonded so easily it was like they'd been friends for ever.

"Okay." Ginny said pulling back. "I'm going to go and get some food together. Just in the very unlikely chance that my mum doesn't bring over dishes of her own."

()()

Bridgette sat at the table in the main room watching Ginny in the kitchenette attempt to make some semblance of dinner. It was taking much longer than usual as she would grab something from the fridge and put it in the cupboard, than look for it in the fridge again. She kept turning to look out the window, and then rearranging everything again.

"Nervous?" Bridgette asked her.

"I'm fine. How are you?" Ginny answered automatically, clearly distracted.

"Did it not go well last night then?" She couldn't quite understand how Ginny was so wound up. If it was her parents that suddenly were coming for a visit she'd be banging things around and intentionally burning whatever dish she attempted to make them before daring them to complain about it with her eyes.

Ginny on the other hand seemed to be trying to make a good impression on them. Her dishes were always delicious, she actually knew what spices were supposed to go with what dish, and here she couldn't even assemble what ingredients she needed on the counter right now.

She had asked her to essentially give her parents a hard time. Which Bridgette was more than willing to do because Ginny was a truly great person, and she didn't deserve to be looked down upon by anyone, regardless of whether there were horrible rumors spread about her when she was younger. And even if they were true. She was so nice, and non-judgmental.

It had kind of taken Bridgette for a spin when Ginny had come into the brothel to 'observe' and then speak to the manager. She'd thought that Ginny was looking for a job. Ginny is a good looking girl, a bit smaller in the chest than the others, but once a girl is done up in the right lingerie, no one notices. She and Ginny had instantly clicked over an inappropriate joke, and one casual conversation later and Bridgette found herself inviting her to rent out her spare room for the month it was taking her to renew her travel and citizenship documents.

Ginny shook her head. "It started out pretty rough. I mean, there was so much that hadn't been said. And I'd finally said it. Then we moved past it a bit and I filled them in on some of my stories from my travels, then I left with Harry."

"So you are just trying to move past it?"

"Yes." She paused. "No. I- I think that we are all trying to get to a place where we can live with the fact that I've been shut out of the family for over a decade now. I mean. The last time I had seen them before yesterday is when I had just turned seventeen. But really nothing has been right with us since I was ten."

"TEN?" Bridgette was astounded. "They treat any of your brothers the same way? Didn't you say you had a whole hoard of them?"

It looked like Ginny was searching for the right way to phrase her answer. "There was… this boy that, kind of corrupted me when I was eleven. Made me say and do things that I would never… anyways. Once I got away from this boy the dye was sort of cast and nothing had been the same ever since. They just didn't know about the boy at the time."

Bridgette tried to wrap her head around that. It was so odd. How could her family not know about one of Ginny's friends having that much influence over her? Wouldn't they have just taken her aside and scolded her, demanding to know why she was saying and doing something that was so against her character.

She didn't understand, but she shook her head and submitted to the fact. "Okay. So you got rid of the boy, and then what?"

"And then lies started being spread about me and what I was willing to do for a si- for a pound. And I was away at boarding school at the time. Wasn't like my parents could just show up and ask me straight, didn't when I was home either. Hormones got involved in my teen years, and if I lashed out about something it was hostility and, and, and." She waved one hand around to imply the several occasions of misunderstandings.

"Then you ran away?"

"Yes."

"And what do they think it is you do for a living now?" So far as Bridgette knew, Ginny just took up odd jobs here and there. She'd find someone advertising casual employment for a few days and jump at the chance to work under the table. Since they'd met she'd worked as a breakfast and lunch waitress, done that 'consulting' for the brothel, she'd worked a few office jobs here and there as a receptionist or at a call center or something too. She wasn't entirely sure how she filled her days from one to the next, but so far as she knew, she'd always had something going. The flat was quiet during the day anyways.

"I don't know that they've thought about it much. Probably this and that, which is true." Ginny shrugged. She set a pot of water to boil on the stove top.

The buzzer rang.

Ginny rushed to the window and peered down, then went over to the intercom and let them in.

She turned around at stared right at her. "Everything will be fine." Bridgette assured her. "You will make them food. I will make them uncomfortable. What's the worst that could happen?" She shrugged, giving the worried girl a humorous twinkle and mischievous eyebrow waggle.

Ginny gave her a reluctant smile and went to open the door to the flat.

They were five flights up, so Bridgette went to the cupboard to pull out some glassware and pulled out the pitcher of water in the fridge.

"Oh. This looks nice." She heard who was obviously Ginny's mother lie. Straight from the off too. But that kind of lying was call 'being nice'.

"Ohh, look at the plugs! Is that a light switch?" Said an older mans voice.

Ginny may have mentioned her family lived in the country, but not off the grid. She followed the voices to stand at the entrance to the corridor. "Hi!" She said loudly. "Come on in. You're just in time, finally put the rest of my sex toys away!"

()()()()

Ginny almost wanted to cry from trying to keep a calm look on her face. Like everything was completely normal, but Bridgette was going to town on her parents. Left and right making inappropriate remarks.

First with the comment about sex toys, then she mentioned how vibrant their red hair was, it reminded her of how colorful everything is when she takes ecstasy. Her mum had made a face at that, then tried to find a safe subject to talk about by asking how the two of them had met.

Well, they had met at the brothel, so Bridgette was now telling stories from work. Her parents were completely astounded, and Ginny just accepted the casserole that her mother had brought and placed it in the oven to warm up.

By the time she'd served up dinner and they'd all sat down she put a hand on Bridgette's shoulder to let her know she could take a break.

"How have you been doing mum?" She asked.

It took a moment for her mother to make some semblance of her thoughts after all of the in depth knowledge she now had of the life of a prostitute. She'd really held her own though. Both of them hadn't pulled faces, or looked like they wanted to leave.

"I've been better, but I've most certainly been worse too." She answered. "I'm very glad you invited us over for dinner." She smiled warmly at her.

"Mmm." Bridgette moaned. "Me too. My God this is good." She moaned over the food. "Now I know where you get it from." She said to Ginny and continued to inhale her food.

Ginny gave her a genuine smile before turning back to her parents. "Bridgette isn't much of a cook."

"Mm. Never learned. My mum was more interested in her new boyfriends than to teach me anything in the kitchen. I grew up on beans and toast." She said between shovel fulls. "Oh." She wiped her mouth with her hand. "Sorry. I've got terrible table manners, haven't I?"

Ginny saw in her expression that she'd done that for their benefit as well.

Her mum handed her a napkin. "I raised six boys my dear, it isn't anything I'm not used to. There's plenty more food in that dish once you've cleaned your plate." She gave her an endearing smile.

Bridgette looked down at the offered napkin in awe. She must have been sure that by this point the guests would have been wanting to run for the hills to get away from her being so inappropriate, but here was this mother figure wanting to wipe the corners of her mouth and feed her more. She accepted the napkin with a slow hand, and a look at Ginny. A look that said that this had never happened to her before.

"I like the little artistic touches around the room." Her dad mentioned, taking in the pictures and paintings around the room. "Any of them yours?" He asked Ginny specifically.

"No." Ginny shook her head. "I move around too much for that. I usually just have the clothes on my back."

"And you are going back to New Zealand again?" Her mother asked.

"Yes. That's the plan."

Her mum got a little worry line between her brow and opened her mouth to say something, but shut it again.

"What?" Ginny asked sternly. "I'm staying an extra week, like you asked."

"You are?" Bridgette dropped her fork and turned to her abruptly.

"Oh shit! I completely forgot to tell you. Don't worry, I'm still moving out on Saturday."

"Moving where?" She asked incredulously. "Oh." She got a look like the cat that caught the canary. "You're moving into Harry's, aren't you?" She squee'd and moved to pinch Ginny's cheek before her hand was swatted away.

"Stop that." Ginny complained. "But yes, Harry offered for me to stay there."

"You two are quite serious." Her dad observed.

"We are." She told him truthfully.

"What are you two going to do when you leave?" Her mother asked. That must have been the question she'd wanted to ask a moment ago.

"Concerned I might break his heart?" She challenged.

"I just don't like to see my children hurt." She answered automatically. Then immediately regretted it.

"Hold up." Bridgette put her hands in the air. "You consider Harry one of your children, but not Ginny, your actual child?" She glared at the woman across from her.

"I didn't mean." She stammered. "It just slipped out. Of course I don't want you or Harry to be hurting. Ginny, I know there were so many obstacles between us over the years, but I've always hoped we could turn things around. Actually be together again as a family." Her eyes had welled up. "I've missed you so much."

Her dad put his arm around his wife's shoulders. "We know that we messed up. We had a long chat about it, and cried about it, last night after you left. Ginny we have to tell you we feel awful about you being alone, and just struggling to get along. We wish we could go back and change things. To have known the catalyst for all this at the start. But we can't, and we'd really love to come to some sort of place where we can be comfortable around each other again."

Ginny felt like crying, but was fighting against it by gritting her teeth and gripping her utensil. "To be able to send me Christmas jumpers again and whatnot?"

"Christmas jumpers?" Bridgette asked her quietly.

"One of the misunderstandings." Ginny told her. "My dorm mates would intercept my mail and cut it up before returning it to them."

"Ah! Those horrible bitches!" Bridgette exclaimed. The buzzer on the intercom went off again. "Chantal! Oh, I forgot she was coming over to get ready." She jumped up to buzz her in. "Ginny-"

"Don't worry about it." She acknowledged that she'd sprung this on her last minute, and though it had been nice to have her there to torture her parents for a bit, she did need to talk to them properly.

Bridgette left to greet her girlfriend at the door and they went into her bedroom and shut the door. No doubt giving her the low down on Ginny's drama.

The three Weasley's sat quietly at the little table. Each trying to get a grip on their emotions and searching for the right words to say.

"Harry is going to be fine. I won't hurt him." Ginny said finally.

"Oh." Her mum started. "Oh. Ginny, please don't think I'm only concerned about him. I've been so heart broken for years. I thought about you all the time. It just hurt so much when I did."

"It has been the same for me." Her father told her. "We were so sure we'd lost you forever Ginny. And all we had ever wanted was a little girl. Why do you think we had so many kids?" He joked lightly. "Otherwise we would have most certainly stopped after having the twins."

"Arthur." Her mum swatted him on the chest with a watery chuckle.

She turned back to Ginny. "We never stopped loving you Ginny. We just… didn't know what to do with you. All the stories, and the incidents."

"I know." Ginny told them. "And I know we could go round and round like this for ever, or we could move forward."

"We've been trying to think of how to do that." Her father had a hopeful uptick in his tone.

"We can just keep meeting up, I suppose. Until I leave." She told them. "I will come to the lunch on Sunday, with Harry. I know that the rest of my brothers will be there. I'm hoping you will have told them some of this so they don't attack me on sight."

"Yes!" Her mother exclaimed. "Yes. Absolutely. And. And you will spend some time with me next week too? Before you leave?"

Ginny nodded. "And." She hesitated. "The reason you don't have to worry about Harry being hurt by me leaving-"

"I know he is a big boy." Her mum smiled at her. "And you will be upset too, I'm sure."

"Actually, he's decided he hasn't seen enough of the world, and he's coming with me." She felt a warmth spread through her again. Every time she thought about Harry leaving everything he knew behind to be with her, she couldn't help it.

"You. You're. You're running away together?" Her mothers eyes were bugging out slightly.

Her father simply looked surprised.

"We don't look at it that way, but sure, okay, we're running away together." She rolled her eyes at them.

"I didn't mean-" Her mum started, then she stopped and closed her eyes before letting out a slow breath. "I brought apple cobbler." She said calmly.

"What?" Ginny asked, slightly dumbfounded.

"The apples were ready a little early this year. I made some apple cobbler for dessert and brought it with us."

"Right." Her father looked back towards the corridor before reaching into his pocket and pulling out the cobbler and distributing it among the empty plates.

Ginny took her first bite and let out a groan. "Oh God. I forgot how good this is." She didn't see the overwhelmingly pleased look that had earned from her mother, she just kept digging into the dish.

"Your flat mate." Her father started once they'd all relaxed back in their seats after clearing their plates. "Did you put her up to that?"

"Yes." She answered honestly. "Wanted to make you a little more uncomfortable."

They both had small smiles. "She is very convincing." Her dad chuckled.

"She was being completely honest actually." Ginny told them. "You can think of her as an entertainer if it makes you more comfortable, but she does work at a brothel, and that was how we met."

"Wha-"

"I am not a prostitute, nor have I ever exchanged sex for money. I did however work there undercover as a 'fluffer' for a bit as part of a sting operation." She clarified. "But I hope you understand that her chosen profession does not make her any less of a person. She is wonderful, sweet, and funny. She's protective of me after only a few weeks of friendship. And that is a friendship that I am always going to cherish."

Her father swallowed. "I could see that she cares for you greatly. And I do not think any less of her."

"Thank you."

Her mother seemed to be trying to watch her mouth and reactions. She was certainly who Ron had received his snap reactions from. Only once had she put her foot in her mouth this visit, and her regret was immediate.

"Well." Her father started. "Perhaps we should leave it there for now?" He asked the two women.

Ginny nodded and stood up. Her mother got up slowly, looking like she wanted another reason to stay, but not finding one.

"Thanks for coming." Ginny told them awkwardly. Her father was about to pick up the remains of the cobbler. "Um… can you leave that?" She smiled sheepishly.

He gave her a knowing look as her mother flushed with pride again. "Bring the dish with you on Sunday?" Her mum asked.

"I will."

She led them to the door with a wave goodbye and closed the door behind them.

There.

That wasn't so bad. It was progress.

She went back to the common area and picked up the dirty dishes to put in the sink. "Bridgette! Chantal!" She called out. "I've got cobbler out here!"

()()()

**AN- I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it.**


	19. South Africa

**March 2003 - September 2003**

Patrols.

That was what Ginny did in South Africa. More than anything else, it was patrols.

When Head Auror Anderson Van Der Muler took a look at the team from Australia that had signed up to do a tour he gave her a good stare. On the whole, Ginny did not look that intimidating. Especially not compared to other Australian Auror coworkers Josh Charman and Peter McManaman, who loomed over her in their 6'1 and 6'3 frames. Her 5'6 lithe body, that was perfect for some super intense yoga, was obviously not what he'd been expecting.

He put her to work anyways. The unrest they were trying to control was wearing his own Auror's thin and he had no room to dismiss anyone who had shown up.

So, she got stuck on patrols with one of the local Auror's, Emmerson Gabon. He was Zimbabwean according to the Muggle maps, but Zimbabwe and South Africa were one country to the wizarding world. Emmerson was six feet even, dark skinned and solid as a rock. He was in his late twenties and not at all thrilled to be paired up with this tiny ginger white girl.

Externally, Ginny didn't show that his attitude bothered her. She was sure she would have some sort of situation arise, or he'd talk to Josh or Peter eventually and they'd confirm hat she wouldn't hold him back at all.

It took a while for either of those to happen.

While Suikerbosrand may have been only about seven miles in diameter, she and Emmerson did not run into Josh or Peter on their patrols. And their patrols had not shown indications of the unrest she'd been told tale of either.

All of the little clusters of communities they went through were just business as usual. They would spend 12 hours walking around the communities, then be relieved by two others that may have been the local South African Auror's, maybe not. They only nodded; they didn't talk. Emmerson didn't talk to her either. That was how the first month went. Silence and walking.

She didn't say anything to him either. But she'd never been one to instigate a conversation, and wasn't completely sure what to start off with. 'Gee, it's a hot one today' didn't seem like it would lead them down the path to being bosom buddies.

So they just walked side by side.

Then they came face to face with the unrest she'd been called over for.

They were going through the wizarding community of Patonga as the sun was setting and the curses started flying at them. She heard the first curse ring out and she launched herself at Emmerson with enough strength to knock him to the ground and sent disarming hexes in the direction of the attack.

The terrain around them was shale covered flat lands and 100 stone huts interspersed seemingly at random. The aggressors could have ducked behind the huts, or been inside any five doorways in the direction the curses were coming from. She and Emmerson both threw up shield charms and headed in the direction of the attack, only to be attacked from behind as well.

Ginny stood back to back with him firing off spells as fast as possibly. She had to squint in the dying light to figure out where the attacks were coming from exactly, but one by one she made out the slight disruption in the air around where the disillusioned wizards were. And one by one the attacks on her side lowered in number until Emmerson was the only one with rebels on his side still fighting. She turned his way. The directionality of the light on that side made it impossible for her to find the individual attackers the same way, so she fired at random to the spots the curses were flying from.

Then all was still.

She held her wand out at the ready for a full minute waiting for more, but couldn't hear anything.

She made the mistake of letting her shield drop for only a moment. That moment was long enough that she got hit sideways with a bludgeoning hex and flew to the ground gasping in pain.

Vaguely she heard Emmerson subdue the one that got her and felt him touch her side. She heard a scream of pain cry out and wondered what Emmerson had done to the person to have them make that kind of pained cry. He said a spell and the cry rang out again.

It was her.

The pain was making her lose consciousness, but she fought to keep her eyes from rolling back in her head. She couldn't breathe. It felt like she was drowning. She grabbed onto the front of Emmerson's robes in panic. He wasn't looking at her, he was concentrating on her side. She barely registered the sharp, long needle in his hand before he jabbed it between her ribs and she let out a gargling sound, then relaxed.

There were cracks of Apparation all around them.

"Ginny!" Josh came into focus above her and she saw he had grabbed her hand. She couldn't feel it though. But she could breathe again.

Then everything went black.

()()()()()()()

The sound of canvas flapping in the wind awoke her. She was on a cot in a tent. Alive.

Emmerson had saved her life.

She pulled back the thin blanket on top of her and looked down. She had been wrapped modestly with a bandage across her chest, and on the right side there was an ugly green bruise trailing down from her rib cage that started under the bandage. She didn't know much about anatomy and healing, but thinking back on those moments before she passed out she guessed she'd broken a few ribs and had punctured a lung.

She tested her lungs with a deep breath and considered her bruise again. It could have been a few days old, it could have been a few hours old. It depended on what kind of potions they had on hand.

With a shudder she recalled the needle thing he had jabbed in her side and tentatively pulled the gauze up to see if the hole had been closed up. There was a small scar that sat just under where her bra line would be. It was a little tender, but completely closed over.

She lay back down and tried to process what else her body could tell her about her injuries, needs and how long she might have been lying there. Also, where was 'there'?

Gauging from the fact that the walls were canvas and not stone or straw, she guessed she was at the tent city Auror encampment at the southern part of the territory. There was an awful metallic taste in her mouth. On the night stand by the bed she found a glass.

She raised her right arm to check under her pillow for her wand, but it stretched her side too much and it smarted. She used her left and felt the wand there. She tried to cast the Aguamenti charm, but her voice wasn't quite there, she managed it non-verbally and gulped the liquid down. She refilled the glass twice before she was satisfied, then managed to sit up properly with a little struggling.

Assessing the rest of her, there didn't seem to be any thing wrong with the rest of her body, it was just stiff.

Carefully Ginny got her legs over the side of the cot and stretched as much as she could before her side started protesting. Looking around the tent there were eight of these cots, three others were occupied.

The occupants looked to be much more injured than she. Burns on one, leg missing on another and the third seemed to be covered head to toe in a green substance. Under the cot she found clothes and delicately pulled them on, not bothering with a bra, as the bandage was enough in that area.

Exiting the tent she saw that she was correct in her assumption about where she was. She could just make out the Muggle community of Heidelberg in the distance. There were a few others about between the tents, but she didn't see anyone she recognized and headed for the main tent to get her orders for what was to come next for her.

Ginny was two tents away when Emmerson emerged from the main tent. He saw her right away. Her hair was hard to miss in a crowded city street, it may as well have been a flashing beacon in tent city.

"You are okay." His deep voice reverberated in her chest.

"Yes. Thanks to you."

He shook his head. "I am okay because of you. How did you see them?" Her forehead crinkled. "They were invisible, but you saw them and incapacitated them. You must teach me how." He told her strongly.

Ginny blinked in surprise. "I wouldn't have been able to if it wasn't that time of day. The light was distorted and I could see their movements. How do you know how to do this?" She indicated to her side.

"I was a Healer." He said plainly.

Her eyes grew wide. "Why are you an Auror then?" Healers went through years of training, and were in demand. Why on earth someone with competent Healer training would be in the field instead of safely in the city, or a proper hospital she didn't understand.

"Auror's are needed more than Healers right now."

He'd sacrificed his career to help with the unrest. He didn't need more words to explain his choice to her. It was noble. He was strong and noble.

With a full month of nothing but patrols she was getting desperate for something to give her brain a workout. The idea of learning a new skill was exciting.

"Can you teach me?" She almost pleaded.

For the first time, Ginny saw him smile. It made him look so much younger, and friendly. For a moment she couldn't help but wonder if her smile had that effect on her features as well.

"I will." He told her succinctly. "I have been assigned to triage unit, and you will assist me."

Her eyebrows shot up. Had everything changed that much that quickly that they now needed a triage unit?

()()()

Things had, in fact, gotten very bad.

The rebels that were causing the unrest were basically fighting to over through the South African Ministry so they could take over more land and resources from the Muggles with out punishment. There had been very few attacks _on_ Muggles, the battlegrounds stayed with in the barren lands in and around the wizarding territories.

The homes in the communities may have looked like huts on the outside, lest some Muggle stumble upon it, but on the insides they were large, multi-roomed homes and businesses with several occupants. The majority of the country was content with the way of life. The rebel contingency was estimated to be roughly 2000. In a country of only about 50,000 magical people this was an exceptionally high number, and they were very aggressive about getting their way.

Ginny had been out for only about twelve hours in the medic tent with her injury. Since then the war had really started and it had been decided that Emmerson would take point as a battlefield Healer. He hadn't seemed surprised, and now Ginny was to be his 'lovely assistant' as he'd taken to calling her.

They still had to do patrols, but as they did that he would go over human anatomy, and explain the different tools in his bag and their purpose. When they weren't on patrol duty they would be in the medic tent and he would teach her about the potions and have her help with the patients.

For months the battle waged on. There weren't nearly as many Auror's as there were rebels, but there didn't need to be. The rebels were careless and fool hearty. They didn't have accuracy or patience, and it seemed only a rudimentary knowledge of curses and hexes.

However, one idiot with an explosive was way more dangerous than one Auror with a wand. Particularly when the idiot accidentally sets it off too close to a home with a couple and their children living in it.

As the war waged on the two of them were put into the actual battle zones and Ginny's main job had been to keep Emmerson and his patient alive, shielding and fighting off any attackers so he could concentrate on saving them and they would both Apparate the patient out, then go back and do it all over again once the patient was stabilized and handed off.

She'd had to touch and get covered in more bodily fluids than she'd ever thought she would. The first time she'd had to assist with someone mutilated body she dry heaved so much she worried Emmerson would ask for someone else to assist him. But she persisted. He'd saved her life, she owed it to him to bear down and stomach it.

By the second week in the thick of a battle zone it hardly bothered her to tie a tourniquet around a severed leg, or clean the puss and dirt out of a wound for him to seal up.

They still didn't' talk much, out side of 'duck' and 'press down here'. On any days that were calm they would still stick together when they were off duty, but they just stayed in each others presence. She found it to be a small comfort, and he didn't tell her to piss off, so she hoped it was the same for him.

Month four of her being in South Africa was coming up when hey were laying on their backs staring up at the sky and he looked up at a flock of birds over head.

"I miss flying." He told her.

She looked over at the birds too. It was hard to tell what they were. Ginny was used to crows and robins and the like. Pigeons and pelicans, or Seagulls too. There were far too many different types of birds here to even attempt figuring out the name of one versus another.

"Did you play Quidditch?" She asked looking over to him.

He gave her a humorous smile and shook his head 'no'. Then he gripped his wand and she found herself looking at a beautifully colored bird. It was small like a robin, but blue and green and purple with some orange around the eyes.

He took off into the air and she followed his path, slack jawed, as he swirled around and around, dive bombing for the ground and swooping back up centimeters before hitting the dirt. She followed him with a smile on her face.

After a while, he came back down beside her and transformed back into himself.

"You're an Animagus _and_ a Healer _and_ an Auror?"

"I am very impressive." He joked and puffed out his chest.

She smiled wider at that. He wasn't the kind to play around like this. "What kind of bird was that?"

"Lilac-Breasted Roller. I used to watch them from my home as a child. They were so bright and happy, but they can take down scorpions and snakes. Even some _chameleons_." He said slowly.

He knew her nickname. Josh and Peter passed through tent city at different times and had called her 'Cammie' in jest. Ginny smiled and rolled her eyes. "Yes, yes. I am very impressed."

She was. Completely impressed with him. He was so accomplished, and yet so stoic about it all. She couldn't help in that moment but to stare at him and bite her cheek to stop herself from asking. He'd taught her so much already. They had very little time when they weren't sleeping, eating, or trying to save lives. But it was like being a child and impulsively wanting a toy or a piece of candy, only because it was suddenly right in front of you.

His intelligent eyes danced as they took in her internal struggle. "I can teach you."

"Really?!" She burst out. He laughed at her exuberance.

()()()

Supplies were fairly sparse where they were, and those that they did have were supposed to be strictly for potions made in the medic tent, for medicinal purposes. But Emmerson was able to assist Ginny with locating all she would need for her to become an Animagus.

To start, she needed to keep a Mandrake leaf in her mouth for a month. Full moon to full moon. And it tasted awful. She couldn't take it out for eating, or sleeping, or brushing her teeth.

During that month Emmerson had to teach her to cast a Patronus as well. A corporeal one.

It wasn't always the case that one's Patronus would be one's Animagus form, but more often than not it was the way it went.

As she struggled to master the spell, she saw the interested looks he gave her. It required a truly happy memory. She'd managed a wisp of one before during her school years when she thought about laying in the meadow at the Burrow before Tom Riddle was a part of her life, but that wasn't strong enough.

She tried thinking of the Auror Academy and playing pranks on her new friends. That didn't work. She tried thinking of flying on the silks. Nothing then either. There were tens of small moments that flashed through her mind where she'd been happy, and none of them had worked.

What finally did it was the memory of Isabelle and Katy Burke calling her 'Auntie Ginny' for the first time after she'd stopped by during one of her vacations and they'd run at her to hug her in greeting. Her corporeal Patronus shot forth from her wand as a sleek and saucy fox.

Emmerson clapped her on the back in praise. "How happy are you that it wasn't a Chameleon?" He teased.

She grinned as she watched her Patronus roll over and flick its bushy tail, she had to wipe at her eyelashes. She wasn't crying, her eyes were sweating in the heat.

Part of her was glad to be fighting in this war. If she were anywhere else she would have had too many things to distract her from learning so much from her partner. Healing, a proper Patronus, and how to become an Animagus.

Emmerson seemed to prefer teaching her things rather than talking about anything else. For two people that depended on each other so much, and had been stuck side by side for months on end, they knew almost nothing about who the other truly was. But their shared refusal of telling their back story was what they had in common. Had she been paired with anyone else for this long, it probably wouldn't have worked.

()()()

The next full moon had approached and it was time to take her potion for becoming an Animagus. The hardest part about the whole ordeal was getting the strangest ingredient; Finding dew that hadn't been touched by sunlight for seven days… In a desert type climate.

She'd had to create an environment for that to be possible. Beside their tent she'd transplanted shrubbery and a sort of tent to trap condensation, and growled at anyone that she saw going near it.

Luckily electrical storms were not entirely uncommon for the area, small bursts of them anyways, which was the next step. She had to say an incantation day and night until it happened. 'Amato Animo Animato Animagus.'

She'd been visualizing all that would be involved in her process of turning into a fox, and done the transmutation a few times to get her body ready for it. And that was all how, on Ginevra Weasley's 22nd birthday, she became an Animagus.

She ran all around tent city in her new body celebrating and jumping on her laughing comrades. She even climbed up on Emmerson's lap and gave him a nuzzle in thanks. She kept on celebrating in her fox form until she suddenly came upon Head Auror Anderson Van Der Muler who gave her a look and she switched back into her human body.

He gave her a expression that she couldn't quite read, then looked over at Emmerson a moment before moving on.

The next day she was back out in the field defending herself and Emmerson against a small band of rebels while he picked shrapnel out of someone's arms and face.

()()()()()()

Ginny had been there in the fight for five months and two weeks, plus the month of patrols before that, when the rebels dropped their wands in defeat.

The rebel numbers were greatly depleted, and their propaganda expertly disputed. The war was over.

Tent city was awash in celebration that night. The drinks came out of nowhere. Witblits and Mampoer were the liquor of the area. Witblits was essentially fire brandy, and Mampoer was just a fruitier version of that.

She tried enough of each to bring a smile to her face with out getting shit-faced and wound up in a group of Auror's she didn't know. They got talking and one of them asked if she was going back to England.

"Pfft. I came here from Australia." She told him, then slugged him in the shoulder. "Mate." She added with an Aussie accent.

"Sorry! Could have sworn your accent was English."

"It is! And I am, but I'm not going back there." She tapped her chin. "I could probably do with going back to New Zealand. It was so calm there."

"You want calm, you should come to Canada with us!" He pointed to three other guys around the fire.

"Huh, Canada, eh?" She grinned cheekily.

**AN- Sorry, shorter than usual.**


	20. Chapter 20

**AN- I got a lot of reviews saying that everyone liked my OC Emmerson. Thank you. You will see him again briefly. **

**London 2004**

Ginny rolled over and snuggled into Harry's side, burrowing her face into his neck and humming in satisfaction.

He had come over to her flat after having a few pints with Ron the previous night. It was going to be her last night there, and she felt it only right to actually stay there one last time.

He'd smiled dopily at her when she told him that the dinner with her parents had actually gone quite well. His enthusiasm for the fences being mended warmed her and he made her feel like everything was going to be okay.

And today was to be her last day with training the Auror's, then they didn't have to keep quiet about the two of them being together.

Hell, enough people already knew. Ron, Malfoy, Zabini and apparently Head Auror Greyson Scrimgeour, as she found out last night from a drunken Harry, all knew. They may as well broadcast it.

All the trepidation she'd had about coming back to the U.K. and training their Aurors, nearly all of whom were older than her, had been unfounded. She certainly had no regrets about embarrassing the pants off of them in the first meeting. That had been a good call. It had made the more senior Auror's take her seriously.

She'd been worried that as soon as the Head Auror discovered that she was only 24 he'd re-think it and send her packing, so she'd been determined to make a lasting impression.

Now it was two weeks later and she felt she'd done a good job. Everyone that made it all the way through the training would be able to keep working on their skills and pass it down to the new Auror's.

Just one more test for them all today and she was done.

She nuzzled into Harry's side a little more, the scruff on his jaw scratching against the side of her forehead. He rolled onto his side to face her and wrapped his other arm around her.

"Mmm." His hand trailed down to cup her bum. "Good morning, love."

"Hmm." She hooked her leg over his side and pushed so he lay on his back again. "I like waking up to you." She told him, laying down on top of him and resting her head on his chest. "But your breath this morning is bloody awful."

His laughter vibrated in his chest and he hugged her a little tighter.

They both lay there, slowly letting the wakefulness seep into their brains and enjoying the feeling of their naked skin against the others. He was just starting to play with her hair when an alarm started sounding from the other side of the room.

"Mmmrf." Ginny harumphed and pulled back from him to shut off her phone. "Now it's time to wake up."

"Since when do you set an alarm?" Harry asked, trying to remember any other morning where it had gone off. And enjoying the sight of Ginny's breasts on full display.

"Since I have something brewing today, and I need to make sure to get into the office absolutely no later than 8:00am otherwise we can toss today's training session out the window."

"When did you have time to brew something yesterday?" He asked, sitting up and pulling her back to him so he could spend some more time running his hands all over her.

She moaned in satisfaction at his touches. "That feels good." She gave a shiver as he ran a finger along the underside of her breast. "I started it on Sunday." Her head rolled to one side in pleasure as he began kissing her neck starting at her ear and working his way down.

He hummed in acknowledgment. "What time is it now?" He asked, pushing her back to lay down.

"6" She sighed and ran her fingers into the hair on the back of Harry's head to encourage him.

"Plenty of time then." His lips found her nipple and he grabbed her leg behind her knee to wrap it around him again.

She relished in the feeling of him worshiping at her chest. As he moved to the other breast his hand continued its mission up her inner thigh to its target between her legs. She bucked against his hand as his fingers teased at her entrance. He didn't have to move his fingers at all as she gyrated against him.

He worked his mouth back up to her neck and moved his hand to help position his erection at her entrance. Ginny pulled him into her using only her legs. Tightening them around him so he would slide all the way inside her. His groan muffled into the pillow beside her ear and she smiled at the sound.

Morning sex seemed so much more intimate than evening. The early light was coming in through the window, they were both lazily bringing about pleasure in shared touches and were taking their time.

Harry was well on his way to becoming an expert in the quickest way to get her off. He seemed to have realized how much she liked it when he gave it to her in quick and full thrusts, but when it was time to get her where she needed to go, she needed him fully inside her, rocking against her with constant pressure against her clit.

He was dragging it out this morning though, and she wasn't going to complain. It felt wonderful to have him take his time. She loved him using her body to get every ounce of pleasure he could.

Unfortunately there was one thing they'd both blissfully forgotten about until the sound of a key being slipped in the stairwell door echoed through the flat.

"Shit." She bucked her hips and pushed at Harry's shoulders to get him off of her so she could close the door to the bedroom before Bridgette got an eye full of the two of them.

She tumbled off the bed and had her door halfway closed by the time Bridgette was entering the flat.

Ginny heard her chuckle. "Guessing Harry stayed the night then?" She called out.

"Don't know what you're talking about. You must be sleep deprived." Ginny snickered back, talking to her through the now closed door.

"Uhuh. I'm going to put some coffee on, and your cute little butt had better get out here soon to enjoy a cup with me on your last morning here!"

"Yes Ma'am." She called back and turned back to her bed to see Harry with a small pout and a full hard-on still. "We have about five minutes Potter. You up for the challenge?" She waggled her eyebrows at him and he grinned.

()()()

"Welcome to your last day of training." Ginny greeted the Aurors. "Well, your training with me anyways." She clarified. "You've all made it this far, that means you've been keeping your guard up, and I hope that you all found the sessions helpful." There was unanimous head nodding going on. "Wonderful. Now. As I said yesterday. Myself and your Head Auror will be pulling you in one by one after our little session today to go over your performance. I will even be recommending a few of you to take up the responsibility of training the rest of the Aurors. But, before all that we have one last bit of torture." She stood up and went to the corner table where there was a cauldron and a few vials. She took one vial and filled it up before showing it to the rest of the room. "Who knows what this is?"

"Veritaserum." Auror Lupin answered straight away.

"That's right. And I have a little treat for you all as a way of congratulating you for making it to the final day." She gave a momentary raise of her eyebrows, indicating they should infer her meaning.

"You are going to take it?!" Finnegan asked incredulously.

"I am."

"And we can ask you whatever we want?" Malfoy narrowed his eyes.

"You can."

"Any parameters?" Auror Matthews asked.

"No. You can ask me anything" She pulled her chair around to the other side of the table and sat down so they could all see her. "This amount here will cause roughly ten minutes of my being able to speak nothing but the truth. You can ask me anything you want."

The Aurors eyed her curiously as she drank down the potion. It gave her that light floating feeling that came with being under the Imperious curse, but Veritaserum itself was rather equivalent to a compulsion charm.

"What's your name?" Auror Matthews asked first.

"I've been called a few things. My nickname is the most common that people call me, although it isn't what is on my birth certificate. Interestingly enough it seems that the majority of people think my name is short for Virginia. That would be unfortunate. Well, not unfortunate I guess. Some people can pull that name off. I just don't think I'm one of those people." She prattled on. "I don't think anyone except for my old Headmaster ever really called me by my given name, and that was probably due more to the fact that he didn't really know me, but was the one to address my acceptance letter."

As she carried on about answering what her name was in the most roundabout way possible, the Auror's stared at her with their mouths hanging open slightly.

Zabini jumped in to cut her off in her rambling with what he thought would be a straight forward question. "What color are your knickers."

"Interesting that you just assume that I am wearing knickers, maybe you can see the outline of them through my trousers. I'm going to go with that you can. Thing is that I don't always pay attention in the morning when I put them on. You know, to check the color. Sometimes I do make the effort to match them to my bra, but more often than not I just grab whatever is on top in my drawer. Those and my socks. But back to the color of my knickers. I think today I threw on a pair that I got at one of those Muggle stores with all the really sexy looking stuff right up at the front. It's interesting that they are called a 'pair' of knickers isn't it? I mean, you only wear one at a time don't you? Could be because there's two leg holes, but there's also a hole for your waist, so it should be a 'set' if that's the case. Pair of socks sure, but you don't say pair of bra, and there are most certainly two of something when it comes to that, isn't there."

"Stop!" Zabini laughed. He wasn't the only one laughing now.

"What's the most trying case you had?" Auror Lupin asked, wiping a tear of mirth from her eye.

"Oh geez. The most trying case I've had. Well there are really so many to choose from. A case could be trying for so many different reasons, I mean there's the person you get stuck working with, that could make it trying. There could be one case that had something missing that was just not making the dots connect. Sometimes it's the actual subject of the case that makes it trying. I mean I'm pretty sure everyone here has dealt with something or other in a case, no matter how significant or insignificant that made you consider the benefits of turning your wand on yourself. I mean there are some enchanted objects that get into the hands of Muggles and you just have to wonder what the fuck the purpose could possibly be. Imagine if you had to find out exactly who enchanted a Muggle lamp to shoot out bubbles that burst confetti, and why. My lord, what a nightmare. Perhaps I've been lucky not to have anything so mundane as that put on my desk. Perhaps that is also the reason that I keep moving around for work."

While at the start of her questioning Ginny had been talking at a slightly quicker pace that normal, she was getting progressively slower and more purposefully monotonous.

"I think the last of this is wearing off." She smiled to the room.

"Are you seeing anyone right now?" Finnegan asked quickly.

"I'm seeing a lot of people right now." She shrugged and started naming off everyone in the room.

"Romantically!" He clarified.

"Romantically isn't a question. it is a separate statement. if you want to ask a question to someone under the effects of Veritaserum you had better be specific about your questions and how they are formed. You should also make sure they can't seamlessly throw off the Imperius curse." She smirked.

"The thing about Truth Serum is that while it works like a compulsion charm." she stood up and moved her chair back to the other side of the desk since she was not longer under the serum's effects. "You can provide evasive answers, or ramble on incessantly until you've annoyed your questioner to the point that they either have to give you another dose, or they give up."

"If you are under the effects in front of the Wizengamut, it is best to provide evasive and concise answers. Same for if you are being tested by a criminal organization you are trying to infiltrate."

"Such as?" Malfoy asked.

"Such as someone that you haven't seen in a long time asking you what you've been up to since they last saw you." Ginny told him. "Answering 'this and that, worked at a bar for a bit' would be true. Not the answer that their question was searching for, but it would still be the truth."

"That's hardly going to work when you are asked a more specific question." Auror Porpington stated.

"I was specifically asked what color my knickers were, and did anyone in this room hear me say it?" Ginny pointed out. She cast a glance at Harry. He had a small smile on his face. He probably caught on to how she phrased that. Not 'does anyone know the color', but 'did anyone hear me say it'. Because he saw her get dressed that morning, and there was a chance he'd retained that little tidbit of information.

"Right." Porpington continued, not entirely convinced. "But have you ever been in a situation where you were under the influence and actually being questioned in a do or die situation?"

"Yes." Ginny told her simply.

"Want to elaborate?"

"No." She answered. "But I do want to test you all on how you manage to answer those four questions I had after you take the truth serum." She gave an evil smirk.

There was some uncomfortable shifting at that.

"I won't be doing it in front of all of your colleagues. Not to worry." She placated them. "When you are called in individually for your evaluation you will start by taking the serum and I will ask you those questions."

"You mean Scrimgeour is going to hear our answers?"

"Yes. So, all of you should think about how you are going to answer those questions, and you should all be grateful that you actually have time to think about what your answers will be."

()()()

They were going alphabetically by last name down the list of Aurors that had made it through the whole program. Harry was near the top of that list. Megan Porpington was in there with Ginny and Greyson right now. They were utilizing the interrogation room for these wrap up sessions. Seamus had come over to chat with he and Ron after his round. Scrimgeour had asked that he work hard at the Combat Apparation with another Auror down the list that had also shown promise, and the two of them would take over training the rest of the Auror's for that particular skill.

The idea of using evasiveness to combat Veritaserum was an interesting one. It did make you tell the truth, but aside from rambling on and on about something related to the question being asked, one could probably give veiled answers too.

He'd seen through Ginny's mention of being questioned about what she'd been doing and giving a 'This and that' answer. Someone wouldn't ask that question unless they'd known her. He'd drawn the conclusion that one of her cases had been with someone she knew from England dosing her.

He knew she'd been involved in a case that had to do with potions, it wasn't a huge leap to figure out that she'd been given the truth potion while she was 'under cover' then. Probably as herself if they knew her.

Harry wanted to know more about it. It seemed really interesting, and she had a hint of panic when she let the Polyjuice thing slip yesterday. That had to be due to more than the American's not releasing the information about a two-hour Polyjuice yet.

"Nervous?" Ron asked.

"No." He shrugged. "Pretty sure I did well through-out the training, and she already knows what color my pants are." He gave a cheeky wink. To which Ron rolled his eyes.

They'd gotten to the point last night of exchanging the 'I love you, mate's.' Hermione had been there and shed some tears. She'd been astounded that Harry had decided to leave England for an indeterminate amount of time, but couldn't fault his reasoning. She and Ron were happily settled into their life and ready for kids, and not interested in having many more crazy adventures right now.

Harry wasn't quite there yet.

She had been over the moon about Harry giving them his flat to live in. She'd insisted that they pay him something in the way of rent, and he'd insisted that they only need keep it up for him. After all they'd done for him over the years, it was the least he could do to thank them for all the hard decisions and sacrifices they'd made to help him.

"Potter." Scrimgeour called from the interrogation room.

He had to wipe his palms on his knees before he stood up. It was always nerve wracking to get a performance review, even if he knew he'd surpassed several of his co-workers, there was always something he would have to work on and knowing it was going to be pointed out to him got him sweating a bit.

Scrimgeour and Ginny were sitting down when he walked into the room. They were side by side, and his chair was across from them, with a vial of clear fluid atop the desk in front of him.

He closed the door, took his seat and picked up the vial, taking a whiff first. There was no odor to it. He pulled out his wand and cast a detection charm as well. There was no way he was going to do something as stupid as letting his guard down and shooting back an unknown substance in front of his instructor and Head Auror.

Ginny caught his eye and he saw her pride glowing in her cheeks at his actions.

He downed the liquid.

That familiar feeling of placated happiness ran through him, and his tongue felt loose in his mouth.

"What is your name?" Scrimgeour asked.

Harry's mouth was open, and words started coming out before he had the thought process to stop them. "My name is..." He grabbed onto some control to try and avoid saying his actual name. "Something I didn't really know until I was 5. Thought it was 'Boy' until that point." Oh no. "That's all my relatives called me. Figured out it wasn't that when I got registered for primary and the teacher said it." This wasn't at all what he'd wanted to say. "Thought she was talking to someone else. I told her that wasn't my name and she looked confused." He didn't want them to know this. "It took me a while to respond to my real name when it was called."

No one was supposed to know this.

"What color are your pants." Ginny asked quickly.

"I didn't really check in the morning." The compulsion to answer was so hard to fight. He managed to struggle in a pause. "Most of my pants are a basic color. They have some pretty crazy one's in the shops, but when you're just going to cover it up, what's the point?" He fought to keep his mouth closed so he could try and not do the incessant rambling that Ginny had done earlier.

"What was your most trying case?" Scrimgeour asked. There was a hint of sadness to his tone.

"The whole wizarding world knows that one. Some have all the details. Some have fabricated one's. Rather annoying really. Surprising I haven't escaped from England a little sooner to try and get away from it all." Again, he struggled against the compulsion to say anymore.

He looked down at his hands gripping the underside of the table in an attempt to gain some control of his compulsion.

"Are you seeing someone?" Ginny asked. She had a little hint of humor in her voice.

Currently he was looking down at his hands, not at either of them. "Not currently."

"We'll give you a few minutes for the potion to wear off before we continue with your assessment." Scrimgeour told him.

For five long minutes they sat in silence. Ginny and Scrimgeour were flipping through their papers and marking notes here and there, graciously giving him time to compose himself. Harry was just sitting there, only mildly horrified that his attempt to avoid their straightforward questions had brought up his long buried childhood neglect. Well, what he thought had been long buried. They hadn't been the only one's surprised by the truth that came out of his mouth. He had no idea that that would be sitting there right on the tip of his tongue.

"It should have worn off by now." Ginny said quietly.

Harry shifted in his seat, and Scrimgeour righted his papers and sat up straight.

"What is your favorite fruit." She asked, making sure.

"Dragon fruit." He lied.

Her eyebrows went up in intrigue. "Really?"

"No idea. Haven't tried it." He shrugged, with a forced tight smile in response.

Scrimgeour hmm'd. "Right then. Well, from all of the notes we have of your performance it's safe to say that you will be sorely missed around here. Miss Weasley here had you down as the top candidate for training on fighting the Imperius curse."

She and he locked eyes and shared a moment.

"All around you did pretty exceptional in each of the training's. Could use a lot more experience with the Combat Apparation, but that can be said of nearly everyone." Scrimgeour continued.

"It took me quite a while to get it right as well." Ginny chimed in, in a tone that told him it wasn't the first time she'd had to say it. "Today's test was probably the one you could work on the most. While you avoided answering the question, you clearly let slip something you'd probably prefer us not know."

Harry drew in a breath and nodded. He wasn't trusting his voice right now.

"As you are leaving us shortly I'm not going to assign you anything to work on." Scrimgeour picked up. "I will be updating your file and will promise to give you the best recommendation to where ever you wind up." He cast a smirking glance over to Ginny. "Though I'm sure your trainer's word will be sufficient enough as well."

"Not to mention the scar on his forehead." Ginny said lightly. She looked like she was trying to resist teasing him a little.

"Thank you." Harry said plainly. "Anything else?"

"No."

"Yes." Ginny said and turned to Scrimgeour. "Didn't you want to go and get some coffee?"

He raised his eyebrows at her, but nodded and left the room, closing the door behind him.

Ginny stood up and went around the table, pulling Harry to his feet. He had little chance to register what she was doing before her mouth was on his. He let out a surprised sound against her lips. She was putting her all into her action and he couldn't help but respond.

"We're at work." He managed when she pulled back for air. Her brown eyes had never seemed so soft and sweet before. She was looking at him like she wanted to wrap her arms around a five year-old him and take all of his pain away.

"You'd told me you'd been neglected. That there had been some abuse. And obviously you weren't fed properly. But to not even know what your name was..."

"Ginny." He warned quietly. This was not the place for this. Scrimgeour may know about them, but they couldn't be doing this here.

"I know. I'm sorry, I just. I feel like we've been talking about what happened with me all the time, and to hear just a little bit about what happened with you-." She let out a big sigh. "I want to know, Harry."

"Not here." He shook his head.

"No. Not here. We don't have the time." She swallowed. There was a shimmering in her eyes that she blinked away, trying to compose herself.

"You were told about drinks later?" he asked, trying to change the subject.

She nodded. "Yes. At the Thorn and Thistle."

"Good." He sucked in a breath, trying to suppress his emotions as well. She reached up on her toes and gave him one more kiss before moving back around the desk to sit down. He left to go back to his desk, nodding at Scrimgeour who was on his way back into the room.

"How'd it go mate?" Ron asked when Harry got back to his desk.

Harry was a little shaken. He hadn't even thought about telling Ginny about what his life was like before going to Hogwarts. He hardly ever thought about it at all. And here he'd been doing his best to subtly pry into her past, it looked like the tables were about to be turning.

"I did well in everything. The last test was the only area they recommend I work on." He told him distractedly.

"You don't look so good." Ron mentioned, more in the form of a question.

"Just… thinking." He managed.

He hadn't told anyone about what he'd gone through as a kid. Not even Ron and Hermione. He hadn't even told Sirius or Remus, not wanting them to feel any worse than they did for how little involvement they'd had in his raising, for different reasons.

"Shit!" Harry remembered.

"What?" Ron asked.

"Remus and Teddy! I have to meet up with them before I go. I just realized." He felt like a terrible godfather that he hadn't even thought about that until now. They had generally met up once a month, or Harry had at least offered to babysit so Remus and Dora could go out on a date or something.

"You know that mum is going to want to have a farewell party for you." Ron told him, as though it was obvious.

"What?" Harry asked stupidly.

"You're leaving, we don't know when you'll be back. Bill and Charlie had going away parties when they left the country. You'll be getting one too."

Harry just gaped at him like a fish.

()()()()

Ginny had packed up her belongings in a slightly enhanced tote bag she had and made a final breakfast for Bridgette, promising to have one more meal with her before she left the following week. Then she walked to Harry's instead of Apparating from an alley.

They were going out for drinks with all of the Aurors later, and she had been go-go-go all day long and wanted these few minutes it took to walk the three kilometers to his place to think over what had been revealed in his session.

The image of a five-year-old Harry being so badly neglected that he didn't even know his own name… It ate at her heart. She wanted him to tell her about it. To be comfortable enough to tell her about it.

Like she'd been comfortable enough to tell him some things.

Ginny tried her best not to think that 'it was only fair'. Because people dealt with things in their own way. And telling her might only open old wounds instead of healing them. Which hadn't been the case for her. Talking about her past to him and her family had helped. Maybe smothering him with love, like her mother had done, had healed him already.

Harry was home when she got there.

"Welcome home." He smiled when he opened the door. He looked happy, but like something was nagging at him. And she knew it was the same thing she'd been thinking about the whole way there.

"Thank you." She walked in and gave him a kiss before heading to the bedroom to empty out her belongings into the drawers he'd set aside for her.

He followed her in and sat on the bed, saying nothing.

She put the tote bag in the closet and turned to him.

They were both tip toeing around each other again, like they had just over a week ago. He looked nervous and unsure, fiddling with his hands.

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." She told him, leaning back against the chest of drawers.

He only stared at her a moment and let out a big sigh. "I hadn't thought about it in so long, I was as surprised as you that it came out of my mouth today."

She nodded and moved over to sit down beside him. They didn't say anything for a while. She took one of his hands and traced a finger along the back of it, turning it over and tracing the lines on the inside. "I love you." She told him.

He put the hand she'd been running her fingers over to her cheek and looked deep in her eyes. "I love you too."

She got a little warm feeling every time he said it. She'd exchanged 'love you's' with her friends over the years, but never like this. When he said it, it was like he was tucking a soft blanket around her heart. She leaned forward and gave him a soft kiss.

"It's just a lot of years that I've pushed this down, and I will tell you. I just honestly haven't thought about it." He said quietly.

"I hear you." She told him straight. "Don't tell me right now. Think it over though." She asked of him. "It sounds like you aren't as done with your past as you might have thought."

He shook his head. "No, apparently I'm not."

She wrapped her arms around him and he pulled her close. "Alright." She pulled back. "Is this okay for the pub?" She pointed down at her fitted button up and jeans.

He grinned. "It's perfect. But… could you let your hair down?" He asked sheepishly.

She raised an eyebrow at him. She had it pulled up into a ponytail currently.

"I just really like your hair down." He shrugged, still playing shy.

She reached one hand behind her and pulled out her elastic, shaking her head so her hair would tumble down. "Better?" She purred, eyeing him seductively.

"Oh yes."

()()()

Her drinks had kicked in enough to make her quite comfortable in her surroundings. Harry was carrying on with one of the Junior Aurors on the other side of him who's name escaped her at the moment.

When the two of them had walked into the pub together they'd done so hand in hand. Quite a few of the group assembled had given them surprised looks.

Harry had guided her over to the bar and gotten them both a drink before getting everyone's attention and informing them that next week would be his last week, then looking down at her with a huge grin and letting them know it was because the two of them would be taking some time off before they figured out their next step.

There had been a few cat calls when she'd pulled him into a kiss after that.

People had come up to voice their astonishment and well wishes for over an hour. Drinks were shared, as were cheers. Eventually they managed to sit down.

There were several of the Auror's and Junior Aurors in the corner booth that they'd moved into. She wasn't interested in joining in on Harry's Quidditch conversation, so she turned to her other side. Malfoy was right beside her, with Zabini on the other side. They both looked to be scanning the bar for a lady friend for the evening.

Harry's distraction gave her time to really look at Malfoy. He resembled his father quite a bit, less the long girlie hair that his father had worn. Did wear. His father was still alive somewhere. Still a bastard, but he had been a reluctant Death Eater in the end. It had made her wonder about what happened to make his son wage a war against the Death Eaters in the way he did.

It was because of her slightly inhibited state that her thoughts escaped her mouth before she could control them. "Why?" She asked Malfoy.

He turned to look at her abruptly, not having been paying attention to the fact that she was beside him. "Why what?"

"Why did you do it?" She looked at him really hard, as though trying to use Legilimency skills she did not possess. "You weren't keen on being a Death Eater when you were 16 and got the mark, I got that." She gestured at his covered arm. "But what made you fight them from their side? I would have expected you to just go with it until you found out which side won."

He appeared dumbfounded by her question. They had been in the same house. Even though they didn't ever talk to each other, the impressions were made of each others characters until the night of the Battle.

Zabini nudged him from his other side. "Go on." Clearly he knew the reason.

Malfoy gave him a look before turning back to her. She could see he was struggling to phrase his answer. It took a moment more of chewing on his own tongue before saying it. "You." He said. "Apparently, you were the reason."

It was her turn to be dumbfounded. "Me? How on earth was I the reason for you to fight back against them?"

Malfoy turned to Zabini and nodded for him to move out of the booth. Ginny turned to her other side and indicated to Harry that she was going to talk to the two of them.

They found an abandoned high top and Malfoy cast a Muffliato around them. Now she was really curious. He fiddled with his pint glass a bit until Zabini elbowed him.

"So, it all comes back to Pucey and Belby getting thrown in Azkaban."

Ginny's jaw dropped.

He continued. "I remember, one night I was sitting with Crabbe and Goyle in the common room and they were talking about it. More wishing they'd thought of it." He sneared. "Started telling stories about what their fathers had gotten up to as Death Eaters before the last war ended. I was disgusted. I mean, I knew that my father had to... torture some Muggles." He said reluctantly. "But those two were getting kind of, turned on, by the story of what those two prefects had been doing. It made me re-evaluate my friends."

"And that's where I stepped in." Zabini said.

Ginny looked between the two of them, waiting for more of the story. Completely enraptured.

"So, I had known that Voldemort was back by this point." Malfoy continued. "My father had told me that my options were to either join the Death Eaters, or Voldemort would make him kill me. Then when he wound up in Azkaban, it was join the Death Eaters, or they'd kill my mother, then me."

"By this point he was truly disgusted by everything the 'Dark Lord' stood for." Zabini told her.

Malfoy shivered. "And I couldn't stand being around Greg or Vincent any more. They wouldn't stop talking about rape, or how great it would be if they could properly cast the Imperius." He shook his head. "Blaise and I hadn't really gotten on before my sixth year."

"Because you were a pompus ass." Zabini tipped his glass at him in salute.

Malfoy smiled. "Like you were any better, you stuck up prick."

"At least I could hold my tongue about what my dear mummy was buying me."

He rolled his eyes in response. "Our friendship started after a comment from this one" He jutted a thumb at his mate." saying how pathetic it was that anyone would have to resort to brainwashing to get under a skirt."

"Then he got his back all up, thinking I was accusing him of pulling a 'Pucey' as we called it." Zabini made dramatic eyes at Ginny.

"Luckily it was just the two of us in the dorm then, because we got into it."

Zabini fake buffed his nails on his shoulder. "I took him down with one punch."

"Then." Malfoy continued, ignoring the comment. "We got to actually talking and realized we were both against Voldemort. But I thought I was in too deep, already being branded, and having this impossible task laid out for me."

"He leaned on me a lot actually." Zabini told her honestly. "We discussed alternative options. Ways to fight back from the inside."

"You were kind of an inspiration." Malfoy told her with no hint of humor in his eyes. "You sent two people doing horrible things to Azkaban, and no one had any idea who you were."

"And it's not like any of us were going to guess that it had been you either." Zabini noted.

"We started thinking of ways that we could do some damage to Voldemort's troops without getting noticed."

"There wasn't much." Zabini said morosely.

"We'd only really made it easier for the Griffin-dorks to get the students in detention out without too much of a hassle."

"Or put the least magically inclined dunderheads in charge of the detentions because any attempts to cast damaging spells wouldn't work right."

"We didn't really feel like we were doing anything to truly help until the night of the Battle."

"Which we can contribute to you as well." Zabini told her in a low voice.

She looked between the two of them. They were both being completely sincere. "I."

"You saved our lives when Greyback had us." Zabini continued.

"We owe you a life debt." Malfoy stated.

Ginny shook her head. "No. You don't."

"We were awful to you, and you saved us anyways."

"I knew you were fighting against Tom at that point." Ginny protested. "We were on the same side. And who knows how many others Greyback would have gotten to if he had made it to the school."

"Ginny." Zabini dragged out her name, as if challenging her to protest more.

She just kept darting her eyes back and forth between the two of them, until they both came around the high top and each gave her a kiss on her cheeks. It was a move that they had clearly done before and it made her laugh out, dissolving the tension in the air.

Her smile froze on her face as she looked beyond their table to the faces of her twin brothers, who were standing stalk still on the opposite side of the bar.

Zabini caught her eye line and looked behind him, sucking in an excited breath and heading back over to the corner booth where Harry and Ron were.

Malfoy came to stand beside her and waved the twins over.

"What are you doing?" Ginny asked angrily through clenched teeth.

"Helping." He drawled and took another drink from his pint. "Fred and George." He nodded at them. "You remember Ginny? She was in Slytherin, year under me."

Ginny turned to stare at Malfoy. Clearly the alcohol was affecting him more than appearances led her to believe. The twins had equal flabbergasted expressions that wavered between shock and anger at seeing her there.

"Hey." Ron and Harry both said, each laying a hand on one of the twins shoulders.

The twins each looked back and forth between their brother, and the man they considered their brother, and their long lost sister.

"I'm going to get another drink." Ginny smiled awkwardly and tried to back away from the table.

"No need." Zabini came up from behind her and set a shot down on the table for her. "I see you two got my invitation!" He beamed at the twins, putting his arm around Ginny's shoulders.

"You invited them here?" Harry asked. "Why would you do that? This is hardly the place."

"I thought it was the perfect place. Too many witnesses for them to get up to something." Zabini explained. "And they are completely surrounded by Aurors!"

"What?" Fred asked. "You lot have been hanging around her and didn't tell us?"

"Did you arrest her and she got off or something?" George asked, unable to take his eyes off of hers.

The four Aurors were unable to tell the twins though why exactly she was there with them. Compulsion charm. So instead the four of them just gave her a pleading look.

Ginny sighed and quickly downed her shot.

Then gasped.

The shot had looked like it was tequila or something. That was not tequila. It was some kind of cinnamon Schnapps that had her gagging.

"What the fuck, Zabini!"

He just smiled down at her sloppily.

She wiped the back of her hand on her mouth and turned back to the twins. "I'm not as evil as you think I am. It was all a misunderstanding."

"I think they're going to need a little more than that." Harry deadpanned. "And can you get your hands off of her please." He snapped at Zabini.

She looked between the twins, trying to figure out where to start.

At the beginning obviously.

Her tongue felt a little loose in her mouth. Ron and Harry were flanking her, and the twins expressions had gone from angry to suspicious to just confused.

The Muffliato spell was in effect around their table so they wouldn't be overheard. She gave her fellow Slytherins a look and they both left her side.

Ginny turned back to her brothers. "Okay. So-"

She started off and just let it all tumble out. Ron and Harry chimed in to back up her story when they could, which was helpful. It helped a lot that she'd told the story so many times and her emotions weren't running high reliving everything. Fred and George stayed silent, taking it all in, which was also helpful as the two of them had been known to never shut up more often than not. She may have had an easier time of it knowing that her parents had accepted her too.

As her story progressed past her 'attacking' Ron and 'burning down the Burrow', then led into the Battle of Hogwarts the twins looked abruptly over to Malfoy and Zabini. The two Slytherins had gone back to the corner booth, but were keeping one eye on the Weasley's and gave the twins a nod, knowing why the two of them were suddenly involved in the conversation.

"And then after Hogwarts I moved to New Zealand, became an Auror and have been kind of just moving around the world to where I could be of assistance I guess." She shrugged.

"You're an Auror." Fred asked in more of a statement.

"And now you're working with Ron and Harry." George regarded the two others.

"And." Harry shifted closer to her and put and arm around her waist.

Both of the twins jaws dropped at that.

"What?!"

"I'm leaving with her next week." Harry told them boldly.

Ginny put her arm around him too and smiled up at him before turning back to Fred and George.

"Mum, Dad and Percy know. Mum's insisted that I come to the Burrow on Sunday for lunch and tell the rest of you. I guess now that's just Bill and Charlie." Her drinks were wearing off by now.

"So. So this is real." George just stared at her.

"You've been. I mean, this is..." Fred couldn't finish.

"Terrible." George stated. The two of them had a concerned and sad wrinkle in between their eyebrows.

"Look." Ginny sighed. "I'm kind of tired of people looking at it that way. Yes, my school years kind of sucked, but since then my life has been kind of great. I've traveled, made great friends. I've had amazing experiences and a fulfilling career. I had hoped that I'd only have to tell this story one more time and get those looks." She pointed at the two of them and they're pitying and regretful expressions. "Now I want you two to just accept what happened and move past it, because I was told this would be a fun night out and it just had a black cloud ride in, thanks to fucking Zabini." She leaned over the table and cast him her middle finger.

Zabini gave her a cheeky smile and put a hand to his chest in a mock flattering manner.

"Ponce." Ginny shook her head.

"Uh. We have some questions." Fred started.

"Well, how about you keep them to yourselves until Sunday?" Ginny asked. "I'm pretty sure I'm going to get similar questions then too, and I really just want a drink."

The twins checked with each other to see if they were okay with that request.

"Okay. Sunday." George said cautiously.

Ginny let out a sigh of relief. "Okay."

"I'll go get you a drink." Harry said and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"So weird." Ron shook his head.

"How long have you known?" Fred asked him.

"Two weeks." He smiled. "But I've only known about those two for a few days. That's why it's still so weird."

"And he said he's 'leaving with you'? Where are you leaving too?" George asked.

"And when?" Added Fred.

"Friday or Saturday next week. We're going to New Zealand." Ginny said looking over to Harry across the bar. He turned to her and gave a wink and a roguish smile that made her feel all warm again. That man was going to turn her into a big pile of mush one day.

"Are you blushing?" Ron asked her incredulously.

"No! It's just warm in here." She lied.

Ron grinned and poked her in the side. The twins gave a reluctant twitch to the corner of their lips. She could see the gears still turning in their head with this new information.

The door to the pub opened and a man and woman walked in that had Ginny's heart jump into her throat. For a second she was frozen in shock watching the woman look around the pub for someone in particular and her eyes landed on her brothers before drifting down to Ginny.

It was one of those 'fight or flight' moments where everything just slows down and your brain works that much faster.

Ginny jumped into action and quickly disarmed the woman as she was reaching into her cloak. The woman's wand flew through the air and she caught it before petrifying the man.

"Ginny!" Malfoy jumped up and rushed over. "What are you doing? I invited them here." He said angrily.

She bound the woman before responding to him. "Perfect, then you can search him for a gun before we take them in for evading arrest."

"Evading arrest? She wasn't a Death Eater." Zabini had come over to her side.

"I never said she was." Ginny angrily replied.

"I should have killed you when I had the chance you bitch. You ruined everything!" The woman cried.

"Live and learn Pansy darling." Ginny taunted before putting her to sleep.

()()()()

"Well why the hell didn't you share this with us sooner?" Scrimgeour yelled through the floo in his office.

Ginny was equally pissed about this. The Americans should have contacted the UK Auror's right away, and the Belarus Auror's too. Mikhai and Pansy were from there. After their whole operation went tits up it made sense that they'd reach out to past contacts.

Ginny was kicking herself too. She knew how close Malfoy and Pansy had been in school. She hadn't even asked him if she'd reached out to him. It was a huge slip up on her part.

She and Malfoy were currently sitting on the love seat in Scrimgeours office while the Head Auror was bent over with his head in the fireplace yelling at a higher up Auror in New York.

Malfoy wasn't saying anything. He had been in shock to find out what Pansy and her husband had been up to something illegal and were on the run. Apparently Pansy had reached out to him while he was on his mission and he'd received her message when he got back. He'd offered up Malfoy Manor for them to stay at and they'd been there since Tuesday.

What really confused Ginny is that Pansy must have known that Draco was an Auror, and that the event that he'd invited her to would be attended by Auror's, so why on earth would she and her husband agree to come to it?

Harry and Zabini with two other Junior Aurors that were relatively sober had taken Pansy and Mikhai to holding cells until it was decided what to do with them. For that they needed more than just Ginny's word on it, so Auror's from the States had to come over with proof of their crimes before they were allowed to take them back to the States.

"I don't care what time it is there. I expect you to get your men together and over here for 10 IN THE MORNING. Let they stay in the cell over night" Scrimgeour pulled back from the fireplace and sat in his desk. He paused to wipe the soot off of his face then surveyed Ginny and Malfoy carefully. "How much have you two had to drink?" He hadn't been at the Thorn and Thistle with everyone else. From the suit he was wearing it looked like he'd actually been at a semi-formal event.

"Quite a bit." Malfoy told him.

"A little less than quite a bit." Ginny thought back. "It's been near an hour since my last drink." The shot Zabini had given her before she talked to the twins was her last.

Scrimgeour growled. All of his best Auror's had been at the pub drinking. Not that there weren't several Aurors on shift right then, and several more on call, but the best weren't in any condition to take charge.

There was a knock at the door before Harry and Zabini came in.

"DeRabbie and Johnson are keeping guard until they have further orders." Zabini told the Head Auror.

"Good. I'll switch that up to the Junior Aurors later." He turned to Ginny. "How dangerous are these two?"

She took a moment to form her words. "Mikhai is smart, but not very talented with wand magic. I doubt he'd be able to break out of a holding cell. Pansy has a business mind, I don't really know what her ability is with magic though. These two would probably know better than me." She indicated to her former house mates.

"She was only able to just get by in school." Malfoy told him. "Unless she's been practicing these past few years, then she isn't a threat. She was groomed to be the trophy wife of a pureblood." He shrugged.

"I would worry more about someone attempting to break out Mikhai." Ginny told him.

"Why him? Who would be attempting to break him out?" The Head Auror asked her directly.

"If Head Auror Jones didn't tell you then it isn't my place to tell you either." She narrowed her eyes at him. It was classified, and he knew it.

"He wasn't there just then. And I have a right to know why I am holding them." he leaned on her.

"You do." She agreed. "And feel free to get that information from the American Aurors. However I have a non-disclosure with their ministry about those two and can't break that unless I have explicit permission from the American Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement." She held her ground.

"Fine." He snarled. "Then you all are free to leave. But I expect you back here tomorrow morning. Sober. The American Auror's will be here then and we'll need your eye witness accounts of what happened."

Ginny and Malfoy stood up and followed Harry and Zabini back out into the hall, closing the door behind them.

Harry pulled her to his side and kissed her temple.

There was a crash a few feet away from them and the four of them turned to see one of the Junior Aurors had fallen out of their desk chair and was staring between Harry and Ginny in surprise.

They all had a little snicker.

"Can we go and get another drink before calling it a night?" She asked the others. They nodded and all made their way to the Leaky Cauldron, not interested in going back to the Thorn and Thistle with the other Auror's.

()()

"So, what was the story she gave you?" Ginny asked Malfoy when they'd secured a booth and had their drinks in front of them.

"Just that her and her husband were going to be in the country for a bit and the Parkinson estate had been sold off for war reparations and wanted to know if she could stay at the Manor." He shrugged. "She'd spent more time at my place than hers growing up, and my mother is mostly living in France now on house arrest until my father gets out in a few years. So." Another shrug.

"Are you magically bound to the NDA?" Zabini asked her seriously.

"Yes." She nodded. "I can't divulge exactly what they'd been doing to earn their 'wanted' status unless specifically told otherwise."

"But you told me... that thing yesterday." Harry wondered aloud.

"You weren't able to link that to them then though." She pointed out. "And you know that was a slip of the tongue."

They sat in silence for a few minutes.

"I am so pissed at Head Auror Jones." She shook her head. "I can't believe he didn't reach out to the other ministries about this."

"I'm surprised that a 'legendary Auror' such as yourself didn't think to ask Draco about her." Zabini pointed out.

"Shut up. I'm still mad at you for what you did with the twins." She threw at him, only actually half mad about it. "Since when are you friends with them anyways?"

"Are you kidding?" He grinned. "Those two are great! I thought that when we were in school together. Then after the war I actually got the chance to drink with them a few times. Hell, Fred and I have even shared-" He paused and rethought what he was about to say. "Uh... Held hands once?"

Ginny's jaw dropped. "Ew, you and Fred did the Eiffel Tower, didn't you?" She cringed.

It was Malfoy and Zabini's turn for their jaws to drop. "How do you know what and Eiffel Tower is?" Zabini asked in shock.

"What's an Eiffel Tower?" Harry asked wearily.

"Same as a Pit Roast, but they guys are basically holding a double high five." Ginny told him quickly. "And I do not know that from personal experience!" She enforced to the table, before turning to Harry properly. "How do you not know? You're friends with Seamus Finnegan! I would have thought he'd explained every sex act in the book to you."

From the expression on Harry's face the three of them could see he was still trying to figure out what exactly an Eiffel Tower and Pit Roast were. His eyes were all unfocused and brow furrowed in confusion.

Malfoy raised his eye brows at Ginny suggestively. "Should we demonstrate?"

"Hell no!" She laughed. She grabbed the condiments on the table and lay it out for him.

"You did that with Fred?!" Harry asked incredulously to Zabini while not taking his eye's off the condiments. The three others laughed even harder and Ginny put a sympathetic hand on top of Harry's.

They all stayed for two drinks naming off depraved sex acts for Harry and playing them out with ketchup bottles until they were all red in the face.

"Alright!" Ginny set her hands on the table. "Time for us to go home boys. This has been fun, but I need some sleep."

"And we're certainly not making any headway with the ladies with you two around." Zabini told them in dismissal.

"Hey you could always just end the night with some nice Cottaging!" Ginny suggested with a wink.

Harry slid out of the booth followed by Ginny while Malfoy tossed a napkin at her.

Harry held the door to the Muggle world open for her. Once they were safely on the street and walking back to his place he asked her. "Okay, so what's Cottaging then?"

She snickered and pulled his lips down to hers for a quick kiss.

()()()

**AN-** Cottaging is when two guys go at it in a public bathroom stall.  
Learned that one from my gay Australian friends back when my sex act knowledge was at the Harry Potter level. So it might be the same expression for a guy and a girl in a public stall too.. or a girl and a girl.

Hold on, let me look it up on Urban Dictionary...


	21. Canada and Puerto Rico

**Canada and Puerto Rico 2003-2004**

Up and down.

Toss and catch.

Adjust the neck side to side.

Stretch back over the chair and try to work out the kinks.

Toss the ball again.

This is so boring.

Ginny had been in Canada for four months, and it was so mundane. The job anyways. The country was rather nice.

The Auror Headquarters was located in the nations Capital of Ottawa.

The most interesting case she'd been on so far involved enlarged Ashwinders that had gotten into sewers and had progressively gotten larger and larger after every generation and caused a bunch of sinkholes to open up in the city.

Ashwinders only live for a few hours, so over the course of a week they'd caused some major damage to the city's infrastructure, which the Muggles kept blaming on watermain breaks in the news.

Ginny had come to Canada after South Africa thinking it would be a bit of a break. Boy was it ever. Easiest Auror gig she'd had so far.

And she was so incredibly bored with it.

After a month of ghost patrols when she arrived, meaning going to the haunted locations and making sure the ghosts were behaving themselves and not appearing to Muggles, she begged the Head Auror for something with a little more juice.

There wasn't anything.

The stereotype of Canadians being Peace Keepers was not an exaggeration. That was why they could afford to have deployed their Auror's to the war in South Africa.

She asked if she could do some training then. If she kept up at this pace she'd be completely useless if something that actually required stealth and skills came up. She hadn't even tried breaking the Imperious Curse since Australia, and that was almost eight months ago.

When she told Head Auror Aaron Matthews that he was flabbergasted. She explained how she'd been in the situation where it had been put on her while she was under cover and that led to her learning to break it and training the other Auror's. He jumped at that idea.

Now she'd worked with the other Auror's once a week so they all could learn to break it too. That led to them training her in Combative Apparation and Seduction exercises. That had been fun. She was still learning the Combative Apparation.

She then coached them on all the Healing techniques she'd learned from Emmerson. But those training exercises only took up a few hours a week, and she was on the job fifty hours a week. So she'd asked to take a look at some dead end cases to jog her critical thinking abilities, and managed to tie one of the closed cases to an open one which lead to an arrest. That had been uplifting, for about a week. Then the other cases she couldn't connect any dots with.

Which is why she was so incredibly bored, and crotchety, throwing a ball up in the air leaning back in her chair.

Well, that and another thing she didn't really want to think too hard about.

"Hey. Cammie." Came a loud male voice startling her so that she slipped off her chair and landed on her bum with her legs still on the desk.

"Ow." She was bent into a 'V' shape.

The voice belonged to Jayson Simms, who was now bent over laughing. 'Cammie' was short for her 'Chameleon' moniker, something that she was doomed to carry with her forever apparently.

"Right, don't help me up or anything. I got it." She grumbled and rolled to her side and got to her feet.

"A little bored are we?" He teased. Jayson was a good-natured dark-haired guy in his early thirties with the beginnings of a beer belly and kind blue eyes.

"No." She defended. "I'm super bored. You got anything?"

He gave her a one shoulder shrug. "No. Just wanted to see if you wanted to come down to the gym for a little practice."

"Combat Apparation?" She smiled hopefully.

"Yep."

She tugged at the bottom of her shirt to straighten it out. "Hell yeah!"

It was a really fun idea. Basically it was just really quick apparition in a defensive stance, but the trick to it was judging where to land and the timing. Like if a perp was running away, then you would apparate to stand in front of them with your arms in an 'X' formation and your legs braced to take the impact. It had been quite a bit to master.

The first time she'd splinched her arm. Then she splinched her leg at the ankle. After she stopped splinching herself she couldn't get the stances right and kept getting bowled over. She had managed to knock over her training partner a few times by tripping them, or grabbing at their clothes as they knocked her over. But after two months at trying to get it right, actually knocking one of them on their ass was what she was striving for.

And the bastards made it look so easy too.

It would be easier if she was in the stance before she apparated, but she would be running after an actual perp when she did it, so she had to know how to get a running start.

Ginny really wanted to be able to take this new skill back to Jake for his team.

She and Jayson changed into their work out clothes and met in the gym. He would start running, she would chase after him and try to stop him.

She really should have put a cushioning charm on her bum. He would knock her over, or she'd simply under estimate his speed, several times, and she was growing more and more frustrated.

"Maybe we should take a break." He suggested when he noticed just how red her face was, and her hair plastered to her neck from sweat.

She huffed and sat right down on the floor.

"You seem a little more frustrated than it just being these exercises, or boredom." Jayson handed her a water bottle.

She took a drink and handed it back before falling on her back to the floor. "Guess I am a bit upset."

He sat down beside her. "Want to tell your uncle Jayson about it?" He patted her knee in a patronizing way, meant to be humorous.

She rolled her eyes. "My brother got married last weekend." She told him.

His eyebrows went up in surprise. "You have a brother?"

"Yep." She said morosely.

"Couldn't you have gotten time off to go? I mean, it would just be one Portkey."

"It is just one Portkey, and I probably could have gotten time off to go. However I just found out about it yesterday." She threw her arm over her eyes.

"He elope or something?"

Ginny shook her head slowly back and forth on the floor. "Nope. Big wedding. Lots of guests. Married his long time girlfriend."

"Then…" He pried.

"I was not invited." She stated slowly before sitting up and taking the water bottle from him again. "I haven't seen any of my family since the summer before my last year of Hogwarts. Something happened a long time ago and… Things with my family and I are bad."

"Your last year would have been when the war with Voldemort was, wasn't it." He asked delicately, guessing the reason. Probably thinking her family was on Voldemort's side from the tone.

"My last year was the year after the war. And no, we were all on the same side. It's just… complicated." They sat there silently passing the water bottle back and forth. "Went through the market to go home last night after I found out." She only checked in on what was going on with her family once every few months. Over time, she'd thought it would have gotten easier to see them moving on with their lives, but it had made her more and more sad every time something big happened that she wasn't a part of. "Saw that guy that does the etchings in the giant maple leaves. Getting one of those framed and sending it off to them."

"That's nice."

"Yeah." She pouted.

"Do you want to come skiing this weekend?"

She looked over at him in surprise at the sudden change of subject. "Skiing?"

"Yeah. Downhill, at Mount Tremblant. Weather should be good. My wife's family has a cabin up there with a hot tub. Might make you feel better. We can even invite Sampson." He nudged her slightly. She blushed.

Peter Sampson and she had been paired together for her Seduction exercise and got a little carried away. That or they really nailed the training.

Now every now and then, usually after a few drinks at the bar, they'd wind up at one or the others place, but it was a completely casual arrangement that absolutely everyone in the Department knew about. And she found it slightly embarrassing. Not enough to shut it down though.

Inviting him along for a ski weekend with a hot tub might be pushing the boundaries of their casual-ness into relationship territory, and she didn't want that. Because as nice and good looking and rather talented in the sack as he was, she wasn't actually attracted to him enough for that.

"I've never tried skiing before, sounds fun. But as for Peter… no."

"Alright." He nodded. "Ready to go again?" She stood up and shook out her limbs. "Okay. Now, really focus."

She went down into her bracing stance a few more times before she was ready to start again.

He knocked her on her ass three more times before they called it a day.

()()()()

The rest of Ginny's time over the next two months passed pretty much the same way. She rarely had a reason to leave the city, and if she did it was on her own time for hiking, skiing, or going to a spa with one of her female Auror friends.

Ginny was nearing the six month point there when she finally completed a successful Combative Apparation. Once she nailed it, every time after was easy.

And it was just after that there was a department wide meeting.

Head Auror Aaron Matthews was there with someone she recognized as the head of MACUSA.

That was odd.

MACUSA had the largest Auror force of all the ministries she knew of, and they didn't really play nice with other countries either.

She exchanged a look with a few of her fellow Auror's and took a seat.

"Good. Thank you all for coming. We have been asked by Head Auror Lincoln Jones of MACUSA here for some assistance. A mole in their department leaked the identities of all of their Auror's to a cartel or some such in Puerto Rico that had been dealing in smuggling operations and providing persons of interest with illicit substances. They have asked to borrow a few of you for the mission, as their people would be brought down on sight."

'That was odd. Couldn't they just use Polyjuice Potion?' Ginny wondered.

"What about Polyjuice Potion?" She heard someone in the back ask.

"It would only last an hour. We can't risk running out of the potion, or having it wear off at an inopportune time." Jones barked.

Ginny was so glad someone else had asked. Jones did not look impressed with the question.

"Volunteers can stay behind to get more details. Everyone else can leave." Half the room stood and walked out. Ginny stayed in her seat. Mr. MACUSA narrowed his eyes at her slightly.

She took a look at who else had stayed. She was the only one under the age of thirty, and one of only two females.

This mission sounded like a temporary cure for boredom, plus she'd be spending it on an island in the Caribbean? Margarita time anyone? She'd been in plenty of dangerous situations before, what ever the job had been, she'd learned from it, and only almost died a few times.

She'd just have to try to impress judgy-mc-America there.

Head Auror Matthews nodded to Head Auror Jones and let him take the reigns. "There is a powerful potions master that has set up shop in Puerto Rico. He is brewing some of the most powerful, difficult, and dangerous potions and selling them to select clients. He had been doing so for a while. We found out about it the hard way when the Draught of Living Death was 'accidentally' imbibed by a few of our Unspeakables and certain items were stolen from the Ministry.

"One of the perps in that heist was caught for an unrelated reason and confessed under Veritaserum. The Potions Master is the moniker he goes by. He makes the worlds most difficult potions and he makes them stronger than any we've ever seen. One of them, the Polyjuice Potion, was made to last twice as long as usual. We've lost three Auror's already, which is why we know that our people are known to the Potions Master. That is why I am here. You lot may or may not be known to the Potions Master. We won't know until something happens."

"The three that you lost. You mean…" Jayson asked.

"Found their bodies face down in the water. Yes."

Another half of the room left at that. The one's that had families.

Ginny didn't blame them.

After they left Head Auror Jones continued. "The mission is to not only find out who the Potions Master is, but discover the potion formula's as well." There were six of the Canadian Auror's remaining. "Who needs a little more time to think about this?" Two of them raised their hands in indication. "Then you can leave."

They looked affronted at that. But stood and left.

"I am going to interview you four one by one and make sure you are good enough for the job." He instantly reminded her of every nasty stereotype there was about arrogant American's, but stopped that line of thinking realizing he was in a jam and pissed that he'd had to call on another country and probably devastated that he'd lost three lives already. His attitude and skepticism was completely justified. Additionally, if an Auror on loan was murdered it could turn into an international incident, and seriously bad PR.

"I'll start with you." He pointed to the Auror on the other side of the room from her. They went into the attached supply room and closed the door.

"Ready to leave already?" Matthews asked her. She paused before answering. "It's fine. You know I read your resume. I'm surprised you lasted as long as you did. I'll miss having someone with your Animagus form though."

She smirked at him. They Bytown ghosts were much less skittish around animals, and it was easier to keep tabs on their behavior if they didn't run away at the sight of you. A fox was a much more common animal that the other Animagus forms his Auror's took on. A bear and a deer were not a regular occurrence in the downtown area.

A dolphin was completely useless in most situations also. Though Emma Titwiler, who was the dolphin Animagus, could probably be helpful on this mission. She'd been both excited and disappointed when it was discovered that was her animal. She'd grown up on the Pacific Coast of British Columbia and in the salty water more often than not growing up.

"I have been rather bored. Might forget how to use my wand if this keeps up." She teased.

"Ha ha." He deadpanned.

"Not to say I haven't learned a thing or two." She placated.

"Yeah. Peter told us." Matt McKinley, the Auror waiting at the table behind her said. She sent a stinging hex at him. "Ah!" He jumped.

"Guess I do still know how to use this thing." She smirked.

Head Auror Jones came out of the closet and beckoned the next Auror to come in.

"Heard you managed the Combat Apparation properly." Matthews continued.

"I did. Hope you don't mind if I teach it to Jake Burke the next time I'm in New Zealand." She asked him. She didn't think he'd have a problem sharing this skill with other countries, but it was the polite thing to at least ask.

"Not at all." He waved her off. "We've only started developing it here over the past three years."

"It's a super helpful skill to have. Almost harder than becoming an Animagus."

"Until you get the hang of it." She nodded "You should consider just going around to the different ministries and training all you've learned." He suggested.

"Jake told me the same thing." She smiled and shook her head.

"Looking forward to meeting him. I've got the International Summit Conference coming up." He leaned down slightly. "The American's are hosting this year. Word is that they really don't know how to throw an interesting party."

She smiled slightly. "Well, if I don't get picked then you should bring me as a plus one. I can introduce you to a few people." She said brightly. The idea of seeing some of her previous boss's and co-workers was rather exciting.

He laughed. "Imagine that. A twenty two year-old Auror has all of the international contacts. I've been in the business for as many years as you've been alive, and I don't!"

"Hey! I'm twenty three." She said indignantly.

He laughed harder. She just smiled.

They all sat there quietly a while and waited for the next interview to be called. Head Auror Jones called McKinley in and Ginny sat back in her chair.

She and Matthews stared at each other, each trying not to smile at the awkwardness of having nothing to say, and just staring at each other.

Then the door opened and it was her turn. Head Auror Jones did not look thrilled.

Ginny entered the room and stood against the bare wall. Jones was against the other. "How long have you been a fully trained Auror?"

"Unofficially, three years."

"You're English?" He said, surprised.

"Yes."

"Then you trained in England?" He went to make a note.

"No." She corrected. "I trained in New Zealand."

He gave her a quizzical look. "And why unofficially?"

"Have you signed a non-disclosure document making you unable to share any information that I tell you with anyone else?"

He seemed intrigued. "Yes."

"Then it is because I was recruited to go to Australia before my Junior status was up. Worked in an undercover mission for six months before I brought down Hunter Bastien-"

"_You_ brought down Hunter Bastien?" He asked with a mix of skepticism and shock and looked her over again, as though trying to find something about her that he missed. "That was three years ago, you would have been, what? Twenty?"

"That's right." She re-crossed her arms.

"How?"

Her lip curled a bit, as it always did when she thought about that situation. "With difficulty, and the fact that I am a young woman." She said through gritted teeth.

He said nothing for a moment, taking in her inference. "And then?"

"And then after two more years in Australia I fought in South Africa for six months until the end of their war."

His eyebrows went up. "In what capacity did you fight?"

"Guard and Triage Medic."

He studied her, uncertain of what to make of her. "Then you came to Canada?" He asked, confused about her choice to head to Canada of all places.

She shrugged. "Thought I could use a bit of a break."

"And?"

"And now I'm done with my break." Ginny told him easily.

He nodded slowly. "What are your skills?"

She took a breath. "Animagus. Can break the Imperius Curse with out outward signs. Quite adept at potions. Medic. Combat Apparation. Thorough understanding of how to blend in with Muggles. Trapeize and Aerials. Skilled duelist and Muggle Defense, and I'm a fairly attractive twenty-three year old woman."

He looked surprised again at her last one. "That is a skill is it?"

"It has definitely come in handy from time to time. Like when people underestimate you." She smirked as he straightened himself up a bit, knowing she meant him. Then she lowered her voice and changed her tone slightly. "I'll probably be a little more distracting in a bikini in Puerto Rico than the other three that were in here." She said demurely.

He looked slightly startled at the seductive tone she took with him there. She stepped towards him and picked a piece of lint off his shoulder and slowly lifted her hooded eyes to his and glanced down at his lips for a moment. "Fairly skilled in the art of seduction too." She smiled coyly.

He gaped at her a moment and she stepped back to lean against the wall with her 'Auror' face back in place.

His lip twitched and he realized what she'd just done. "And what would your approach to finding the Potions Master be?" He picked up, trying not to smile in amusement.

"The supplier. He must have an apothecary he goes to. See about getting a job at one. Try to figure out who he, or she, is from their ledger."

"And how would you go about getting a job at the apothecary?"

"Start by going in hung over."

His jaw dropped a fraction. "What?!"

She continued. "Get rip roaring drunk the night before, and go into the apothecary hung over the next day to get the ingredients for a hang-over potion."

"They sell hang-over potions."

"They sell sub-standard hang-over potions." She corrected. "I know how to make a tasty one that works faster."

"You're skilled as a potions maker as well?"

"I did take an interest in that subject, but that potion in particular I've got a recipe for that works faster and tastes better. I sold it to the students at my school in my seventh year. Tastes like vanilla."

He thought about it. "I like it." He stared at her a moment longer, thinking more. "I'm going to go over your resume and references and let you know. But first. Why did you volunteer?"

She reached for the handle and said with a completely straight face. "I am so very bored."

That earned her a laugh.

()()()()()()()

She was chosen for the mission and found herself in Guayana, Puerto Rico, which is where the majority of the magical population on the island lived. There was a whole area on the south east part of the town that looked like Suburbia to Muggles, but was the main wizarding community.

Ginny went down there to 'party' and met a lot of locals at the main watering hole. She found a place to stay at one of the rooms above the bar, her story was that she'd just had enough of her boyfriend, and since they had shared everything, including a flat, she was making a clean break.

That first night she'd made a show of tying one on and being really boisterous and friendly with everyone in the bar.

The next morning she did have a bit of a hang-over, but really played it up with being grumpy and big sunglasses, and was pointed in the direction of the apothecary down the road.

It was ten a.m. and she went in, there was a bell that tinkled above the door. "Ah. Loudest noise ever." There was a snort from the other side of the store, where the counter was. "Not funny." She mumbled as she went over to it and conjured a stool, resting her elbows on the counter with her head in her hands. "I need to make a hang-over potion." She grumbled.

"Or you could jas buy a hang over potion." Came the response from the guy behind the counter. He had a Jamaican accent. She looked up at him and lifted her sunglasses up. He was a big guy, with a big smile. Easily 6'5 and all muscle. He could probably have crushed her with his thumb.

"I know what the standard hang over potion tastes like." She paused a moment, looking like she was too nauseous at the thought and had to stop herself before she was sick. "I need to make _my_ potion." She put her head back in her hands. "Uh. I should have done it last night." She moaned. "Okay. Your hang-over potion. Quickly please."

He put a bottle down on the counter. "You take Galleons?"

"Yes." He said. She fished in her dress pocket and pulled out two Galleons. "This is too much."

She held up a finger and then plugged her nose and downed the hang over potion. It tasted like week old, unwashed ass. She made a face that portrayed as much.

He gave her a glass of water and she managed to gulp down one mouthful before she covered her mouth and waited for the actual nausea from the disgusting potion to pass. "Thank you." She said, not sounding like she meant it in her miserable state.

"Few minutes and you be fine."

She looked at him with the corners of her mouth turned down and nodded. He gave her a small smile out of the corner of his mouth. She sipped her water while he went about his business, waiting for her to recover.

Once she'd finished the whole glass of water she let out a sigh. "Okay. I need some ingredients."

"What are you making?" He came back around the counter.

"A hang over potion that doesn't taste fucking awful." He gave her a curious look. "Don't look at me like that." She smiled slightly. "Yours works, but mine is faster and tastes better." She looked around the shop. "Any chance you would let me brew it here? I didn't exactly bring a travel cauldron."

He tilted his head a bit. "I have a work room in the back you can use." He thumbed in the direction of a beaded doorway.

"Awesome." She said monotonously.

He pulled out a pad of paper and a pen. She copied down the quantities for the ingredients she needed and gave it to him. "Vanilla?" He asked.

"Yep. Makes it taste a million times better, and it doesn't screw with the other ingredients."

He gave her a calculating look. "How long are you in Puerto Rico for?"

"I dunno. I just… needed to get away, and found myself here."

"Must have been some kind of guy to trow you away." He shook his head.

"You… how?"

He gave her an obvious up and down look over before smirking at her. "You are a loud and talkative drunk Ginger girl."

She paused staring at him and blushed. "Did I tell everyone in the bar last night?" She asked, embarrassed.

He grabbed a tray from under the counter that had 12 sectioned off spots on it. "Yes." He said simply and handed it to her with a small smirk.

"Super." She took the tray.

He came around the counter again and went to the shelves. She followed holding the tray. "Don't think on it. We had more gone goodaz trou der doin worse dan dat."

"Gone goodaz?" She asked confused.

He turned to her with lustful eyes and gave her a good checking out. "Drunk sexy girls."

She bit her lip and chuckled, rolling her eyes. "I really don't need to be hit on right now, if that's what you are doing."

He smiled. "You'll come round." He said easily and continued to get her ingredients. "Peppermint oil I don have." He said after getting everything else on the list.

"Yeah. That was a long shot. I'll probably have to go into the Muggle store to get that one."

"Wat it do?"

"Relieves the headache faster." He gave her a skeptical look. "I'll duck out and come back in a bit if you don't mind. The potion will be wrong if I don't have the oil." He nodded.

She left and walked to the Muggle store called Wal-Mart and found what she was looking for in the vitamin area and went back to the apothecary.

The bell tinkled and the Jamaican came through the beaded doorway. "Busy place." She commented. He shrugged and waved her to follow him back. "I'm Ginny, by the way."

"Winston."

He pointed her to a cauldron and had all of her ingredients there for her and he sat down on a stool to observe. She gave him an amused smile. "Keeping me company, or trying to steal my recipe?"

"Both." He answered honestly.

She lit the cauldron and bit her lip trying to remember exactly how the potion had to come together. It had been a while since she brewed it. But she'd made it nearly every weekend during her last year of Hogwarts and the ingredients were permanently ingrained, but stirs and quantities she had to think over and catch herself correcting until she remembered it right.

Ginny hadn't wanted to look over prepared for making the potion, so she hadn't tried brewing it before leaving for her mission. Once she wrote it all down and started actually brewing she was able to do it all from muscle memory. The final product was an appealing aroma, and looked much better than the sludge she'd downed earlier.

"You getting gone every night Ginger?"

"Drink til you forget, right?" She scowled as she cleaned up.

"You come for sun and fun and drink." He stated.

She looked over at him, still sitting in the stool and observing bottled concoction. "Kind of." She shrugged.

"You get bored. You come back."

"Why?" She laughed. "You need a 'goodaz' around here?"

He met her eyes at that. "Yes." He said lustfully. "And you got some mad skills." He held up the bottle. "You give me the recipe, you don't pay today."

She shrugged. "Sure. Have it. I'll be doing a public service really."

"Bad barter on you part. Coulda made some coin off dis."

"And I have before. Brewed it in school for payment. But money makes people shallow. So I've learned the hard way." She muttered the last part to herself, but he heard it. She cast a spell to cool the cauldron down and went to grab it to move it for cleaning, but he stopped her.

"I got dis. You go breath easy." Winston told her, dismissing her.

"Thanks. I'll see you around." She waved and pocketed two bottles of the potion before heading out.

Ginny went back to her room at the inn and changed into her bathing suit and threw a sun dress over her head and grabbed some lunch before heading down to the beach to laze around for the afternoon.

She fell asleep in the sun.

The next day she went to Winston for another potion to take care of the sun burn. He offered to rub it on her, she rolled her eyes. The main sun burn was on her front.

A few days later she needed to brew a potion to take care of her menstrual cramps. Winston asked if she wanted a contraceptive potion too and she scoffed.

Two weeks after her arrival they were having a torrential downpour and she went to see Winston. "What it be?" He asked her. Meaning what did she need that time.

"Nothing. It's raining. I'm bored. Finished reading all the truly juicy harlequin novels at the inn. Thought I'd come hang out with you if that's okay."

He nodded and started filling his ingredient containers. She sat on the stool at the counter and watched him work.

"When did you move here?" She asked, trying to start a conversation.

"I come here seven year ago."

"You like it better than Jamaica?"

He turned back to her. "You really bored." She gave him a sheepish smile. He grabbed a rag and tossed it at her. "Wipe down dem jars." She snickered and got to work dusting. "You ask me bout my past. I ask you bout yours." Knowing she wasn't interesting in talking about her history.

"Fine. I won't."

"Figure out how long you be stayin now?"

"Until I'm ready to go, I guess. Though if I have to keep staying at my room at the inn, not much longer. It's not exactly expensive, but…" She said, continuing to wipe down the shelves lazily. Checking out the contents.

There was a few minutes of silence as they both carried on cleaning and filling supplies. She hadn't seen any other customers come in his shop. But his ingredients were always a little lower than she'd noticed before, particularly the one's she'd been keeping note of. His were the good quality ingredients too. Fresh and the proper colours and consistencies.

"I got a room 'ere." She jumped at the sudden sound of his voice. Turning her head to look at him she saw he had been leaning back against the shelving, observing her.

"Are. Are you inviting me to live with you?" She asked, her voice and octave higher than usual. He nodded. "I… you know that. Well, I mean." She stuttered, flustered and blushing. "I know we've flirted a few times, but."

He waved his hands at her. "I don mean like dat. You stay 'ere. 'elp me wit some brews. Clean up a bit." He shrugged.

She chewed her lip and thought on it a moment. "How much for the month?"

"First one free. You hang over potion payment enough."

"What? Really?" She sounded surprised.

"I take you back. Come on." He waved a hand.

He led her through his workshop and down the hall. The spare room he had was little more than a mattress on the floor and a three tiered book shelf. She'd had more luxury in a tent in Johannesburg. But it'd do. She sniffed in amusement. "Sure. Why not."

He came close to her and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "You get lonely, you come warm my bed."

She put her hand over his and moved it to lay over his chest. "You come to me at night. I show you a Bat Bogey hex."

He laughed and nodded.

()()()()()

Step one of her mission was complete. She was now working with Winston. He had her brew a few of the basic potions. Fever reducer, pepper-up, and her hang over potion. She was to send off an owl to Head Auror Jones once a month at a specific time, and received word back once a month. Her first received Owl left her astounded and confused.

It had all of the up to date intel on anything related to her mission, to which the American Aurors did not know she had been assigned, or any other Aurors other than Head Auror Matthews for that matter. But it also included a letter from Head Auror Greyson Scrimgeour of the UK, asking her to come to London to do training sessions with his Auror's.

What?! How in the hell? Why in the hell? How the fuck did he even hear about 'the Chameleon'?

That was how he addressed her too. Not as Auror Weasley, or Ginevra. The letter only referred to her in the androgynous sense. She hid the letters away after transfiguring them, in case they were found in her bag, and she went back to the apothecary.

Most of Winston's business was done by owl order, as she'd assumed, so it was strange to her to enter the shop and see someone in there. A blonde female was even more so. "Pansy Parkinson?!" Ginny practically yelled in surprise.

Pansy turned around and looked at Ginny. She seemed startled and confused a moment, then recognition dawned and she sneered. "Weaslette? What the hell are you doing here?"

"I live here. What are you doing here?" They both gave the other a full looking over. Winston was behind the counter and looked a little disturbed at the situation.

"You? You live here? In Puerto Rico" She sneered.

"In this shop. With Winston." Ginny replied patronizingly.

Pansy snapped her head to look over and Winston, then back to Ginny. "Of course you do." She said in the same way she had in school. Every time she commented on Ginny's chastity.

"Don't talk to me like that you cum guzzling gutter slut. I've been wanting revenge on Slytherin's like you for twelve years you degenerate low life inbred skank." Ginny snarled.

Winston's eyes went wide at how Ginny was talking to her. It had been years since she'd seen someone from her formative years. Apparently she wasn't over it, because when she'd played out scenarios in her head of how she would deal with that situation, if it ever came up, it wasn't her verbally assaulting them. But boy did it feel good.

Pansy looked pleased though. Like she was being complimented instead of degraded. "I wondered if you would ever grow a back bone." She appraised her again. "So what? Had enough of disappointing your family, and now you're hiding out here?"

Ginny narrowed her eyes at her. "I suppose you ran the second old Voldy fell in shame and wanted to avoid Azkaban. What was it, new nose, new life?" She'd had work done on her face for sure. She'd had a squished nose through school, now it was narrower with a slight turn up at the end. It did make her look much prettier and suited her face better.

"That's exactly what it is. Moved here after the war. Married for money, and now here we both are." She said with a sophisticated casualty.

Ginny felt her metaphorical claws retract slightly. "Why haven't I seen you before now? I've been here a month."

"I have little need to come into town much." She looked around at the slightly dilapidated look of the shop.

"Right. Much easier to keep that stick up your ass when lazing around on a chaise long pool side."

Pansy smirked at her. "Precisely." She held out her hand to Winston palm up, not taking her eyes off of Ginny. Winston gave her a wrapped parcel. "Ta for now." She said before sweeping out of the store.

Ginny stared at the closed door.

"You don wanna be on da bad side a dat one." Winston told her in his serious, low and deep voice.

She sighed and looked back at him. "No. I never did, but I always was." She went and put her elbows on the counter. "I guess I've been repressing that for a long time. It literally just spilled out." She said, kind of in shock. She looked up at him. "Is she a regular customer?"

"Not normally in person. She be da Lennox we be sending owls to."

"So her husbands surname is Lennox." Ginny stated. Lennox had been one of the customers she'd been keeping a mental tab on. They had a pretty regular shipment of the ingredients for brewing the more dangerous potions. Pansy Lennox nee Parkinson, Ginny could see her marrying someone with an evil alliance. Personal feelings about her aside, she was absolutely a suspect. "I need a drink. Do you mind?" She asked Winston.

"Come on. I be gon wid ya."

She turned into a 'gone goodaz' again that night. One of her Hogwarts tormentors was here on the island. That was a good enough reason for her to get smashed.

Winston wound up throwing her over his shoulder and carrying her to her room after she'd had her tenth shot of tequila. It had only been about seven at night.

The next morning she took her hang over potion and went to her room to respond to her owls. She now had quite important information to relay to Head Auror Jones, and a rejection letter for Head Auror Scrimgeour.

In her surprise at seeing Pansy Parkinson she almost forgot about the peculiarity of the letter from the UK. Yes, she'd headed up a lot of training sessions in a variety of areas in New Zealand, Australia and Canada, but she had also learned a lot from each of those countries.

She'd been itching to show off the Combat Apparation to Jake. He'd be pretty proud of her for learning that one.

Ginny suggested a few other Auror's to Scrimgeour instead. By far, she was not the most qualified Auror out there, why would he have reached out to her?

She lay back in her bed and thought it over. Jake Burke was probably responsible for this. Head Auror Matthews had said there was a summit for all the head Auror's. He probably ran into Scrimgeour and talked her up. He'd been slightly nudging her to rediscover her roots or some such nonsense. Though, it wasn't nonsense. He'd seen her after she'd found out about two of her brother's marriages and one niece being born. He saw how miserable she'd been.

That reminded her that Isabelle's birthday, Jake's daughter, was coming up, and she should probably owl order her something. Ginny had been diligent about staying in Jake's daughters lives, despite the distance. They always raced to hug her when she saw them, even though they were in their teens now and it wasn't cool.

Yeah, she was going to blame Burke for this one.

()()()()()()

Winston had started asking her subtle questions about her schooling over the next few weeks. All somehow geared towards her relationship with Pansy Lennox, and what she might know about her.

All Ginny would let on was that they didn't get on then, and she was fine being her little shop girl, but she would really rather not interact with her.

A month after the confrontation at the Apothecary and it was requested that Ginny hand deliver supplies to the house. Though looking around, the house more resembled a mansion; Grand marble entrance, double glass doors across the way leading to what looked like an infinity pool over looking a valley that led to the sea.

Ginny rolled her eyes. It was ostentatious. Every sound echoed.

"Weasley." Came Pansy's voice as she descended the staircase wearing only a bathing suit and a small silk robe that hung open.

"Parkinson." Ginny replied with clenched teeth.

Pansy forced a tight smile. "Not for a few years." She regarded the linen bag Ginny had with her, then gave a cursory but calculating once over of her clothes.

Ginny narrowed her eyes at her. She hadn't dressed as though today was anything different than any other day. A simple sundress with her simple halter style bathing suite under her clothes, and sandals. Perfect for working in a shop by the beach in the Caribbean.

"Follow me." Pansy headed through the glass doors to the gazebo by the poolside.

Ginny noticed her lack of a 'please', but followed her and took a seat a the patio chair anyways and set her bag down on the table, nudging it over to Pansy.

She didn't take it.

Pansy snapped her fingers and a House Elf appeared. "Two iced teas. Make mine strong." The elf bowed and popped away.

"I really didn't come here to socialize. If you're lacking in friends you could just try being nice." Ginny scowled at her.

Pansy narrowed her eyes and said nothing. The elf came back and gave them each a glass. Pansy took hers and sipped.

Ginny eyes hers precariously. There was a very good chance that it was spiked.

"Not thirsty?" Pansy asked sweetly.

"What did you have added to it?"

"Does a Slytherin ever tell?"

"Veritaserum then." Pansy showed no surprise, but her hint was enough. "What do you want to know so bad that you'd need truth serum for?"

"Drink, and you'll find out."

"You first." She slid the glass along the surface. Pansy did actually reach forward and take a sip of Ginny's drink then, and sat back in her seat, looking slightly more dazed than she had a moment ago, but still her stick up the ass sophisticated self.

"Why am I here?"

"I want you to brew potions for my husband and I."

"Why me?"

"Your hang over potion is exceptional. You have prowess, and we need someone that won't be missed."

Ginny brow furrowed at that. Pansy didn't think Ginny would be missed if they killed her?

"No one cared about you at school You had no friends, your family has't spoken to you in years, and you never receive Owls. Besides Winston, no one really knows you here, and we have him under our control."

"Control?" Ginny pried with narrowed eyes.

"Money is control." Pansy blinked a few times and her eyes cleared of the glassiness that had been an effect of the potion. "Your turn."

"That is some pretty weak Veritaserum." Ginny commented. She hesitantly pulled her glass closer to her and raised it to her lips. She took a deep breath and eyed Pansy seriously before taking a small mouthful and relaxing back into her chair.

Veritaserum had very much the same effect of the Imperious in its calming and floaty feeling.

"Why are you here?"

Ginny sighed. "You asked me to come."

"Why are you here on this island." She specified

"I'm running away from real life." Ginny made a show of gesturing with her hands.

"What did you do to support yourself after Hogwarts?"

Ginny shrugged. "Oh, this, that and the other thing. I worked for a circus for a while."

"How did you get so adept at brewing potions? I don't remember you being a star student."

"I did what I could to blend into the background at school." This potion really wasn't that strong. She did feel she had no choice but to tell the truth, but she could tell partial truths. "But I was always good at Potions. Usually sold my actual work to another student and submitted something ho hum. Sold Hangover and Contraceptive potions in my seventh year." The potion was wearing off quickly.

"What side of the war were you on?" Pansy's eyes were intense and dark at the question.

The last of the weak potion wore off and Ginny felt she matched the intensity for the answer. "My side."

()()()()

It took another month before Pansy had 'convinced' Ginny to move into the house from the Apothecary. She had acted annoyed with Pansy. Called her out on her prissy attitude, Pansy had taken it all in stride.

The offer came together in gradual stages. Ginny knew she was being tested. Brewing a specific potion and hand delivering it. Being given an altered version of another potion and snarling at her before rolling her eyes and brewing that one too.

Finally, and official contract was put in her hands. The contract that offered her one of their guest rooms and a ridiculous amount of money.

Meanwhile, she'd still never met Pansy's husband.

Ginny threw the contract down in front of Pansy after reading it. "You're trying to control me with money? I'm a Weasley remember? We can get by on next to nothing."

"I will run you off this island if you don't sign it." Pansy's 'better than thou' demeanor was cracking. She was clearly upset, and rather rigid.

"Fine! I'll move somewhere else. On to the next thing." Ginny stood up. "I was doing just fine before you started testing me."

"Stop." Pansy almost yelled. She looked like she had lost her composure now.

Ginny did stop.

"Look. Obviously you know my husband and I are doing something illegal. Well. He needs an apprentice, he needs a break."

"Why can't you do it yourself?"

She gave her a withering stare and pursed her lips. "I do the other side of the business. I'm crap at potions."

"Why isn't he telling me this? Why have I never even met him?"

"He's always in the Potions lab." She nearly whined.

"Why don't you just take less orders?" Ginny suggested simply.

"We have. We are incredibly selective about who we make potions for, and why. But he is always working on something new when he isn't brewing for an order. He doesn't even really care about the business, it just funds his research. But now he says it is distracting him from his research and he doesn't want to do it anymore. That is why he wants an apprentice."

"And you need me to live here for that?" She asked skeptically.

"It would be easier. And your room would be much nicer than your current one." Pansy tried to entice her.

Ginny stared at her as she thought it over. She was very careful about how her thoughts were guided when she was around Pansy.

"How long for?"

"No time cap. But at least a year. We aren't going to invest our time in you just to have you run away on us."

"What will happen if I do decide to leave?"

"I'll obliviate you of your time here and you will be on your way."

"Wipe my memory?" Ginny asked her with reservations.

"I am very good at that." Pansy rolled her eyes. "Just crap at potions."

Ginny led her gaze more over to the pool, the beach down the valley, and up to the house. "Fine. I'll need at least one day to myself a week, and I'm not signing anything. I was in Slytherin too. Just take comfort in the fact that if something goes wrong, it'll be my ass on the line too." She huffed. "And I'm not staying in your guest room forever. Maybe. Maybe just until your husband teaches me everything to his satisfaction. Then I'll find a place of my own to work from there."

"Fine. Follow me." Pansy stood and led Ginny through the house and to a door off the kitchen. It led to a flight of stairs, which went down at least three stories, switch backing.

At the bottom, Pansy opened a door using her wand. The room the door led to was massive, and humid. There was a greenhouse style operation on one side, and shelving full of supplies down the middle of the room separating the plants from the work station on the other side. The entire back wall was a window.

It looked exactly like an evil lair from a cheesy movie.

Ginny stood rooted to her spot and Pansy continued into the room towards the work stations that had steaming cauldrons every four feet. Pansy came to a stop beside a desk in the far corner of the room pressed against the floor to ceiling window overlooking the valley.

There sat the husband.

Ginny took her time following her over, stopping at each cauldron to inspect its contents and glimpse over the notes beside them. She heard Pansy say 'I'll leave you to it', and listened to the click of her heels towards the exit.

Ginny was reading over the adjustments to Polyjuice when she felt the husbands presence beside her.

"Very slight adjustments have a very profound effect." He had a deep voice and European accent. Romanian maybe.

She looked up from his notes and set eyes on the mystery man for the first time. He wasn't what she'd been expecting. In her head this man had been a balding man in his forties with a beer belly and bottle cap glasses. And short.

He was none of those things.

Just shy of six feet, a full head of short dark hair, with a slight curl at the ends. He looked to be about thirty five, square jaw that had two days of stubble. His eyebrows were a little long, his nose a little large, but his eyes were a deep soulful brown that really drew you in.

"I've found the same thing." She replied.

He gave her a smile that showed off pearly white teeth. He had one slightly crooked tooth on his bottom row that was endearing. "Yes. I had much fun testing your hang over cure."

In terms of criminal masterminds she'd come across over the years, and the other evil doers, he looked the least crazy and repugnant. He immediately came off as pleasant.

That could mean only one thing.

He was dangerous.

"Mikhai." He held his hand out to her.

"Ginny." She shook it.

"My wife tells me we will be able to make this work very well."

"Where do you want to get started?"

He showed her around the space, naming off all of his plants, and the cupboards upon cupboards of various ingredients and the storage supplies and cleaning products. Mikhai put an emphasis on the cleaning. He did not allow House Elves or wand magic in the room. Everything must be done by hand.

()()()

Over the next week she settled into a routine with Mikhai, one that had her seeing next to nothing of Pansy. Her manipulations of the Hangover potion had been a one off. She wouldn't be any good at doing what Mikhai was doing, but she could follow a recipe perfectly.

And that was what she did from morning to night six days in a row. Brewing, maintaining plants, and harvesting supplies.

Meticulously.

Her seventh day she snuck out of the mansion early to go for a much needed hike. The whole day she spent outside working on relaxing her tense muscles. Six days straight in one room for the duration of the day. It wasn't until she hiked to the top of a hill and lay down that she realized how tight her whole body was.

Mikhai had approved of her potions at the stages she was at. He followed her around the greenhouse as she tended to and harvested the plants. He hadn't talked much, neither had she. Mostly they just nodded at each other. She would go up and fetch his meals at the appropriate times from the house elf, after making her own since she didn't trust the elf, or the Lennox's.

His marriage with Pansy seemed more like a business arrangement than anything.

It was yesterday that Ginny realized something.

Mikhai didn't just not allow magic in the room, he didn't even carry a wand. He was at his own home, in his own work space, but to not have a wand? Her wand was basically an extension of herself. Even when she lived as a Muggle it was always on her.

She needed to get in touch with Jones, but wasn't going to send an Owl to him today. He was waiting for her go ahead to resume communication, but today was her first day off and she was probably being watched somehow by Pansy and Mikhai.

The last time she'd corresponded with MACUSA she received another letter form Head Auror Greyson Scrimgeour in the UK asking her to do a training program again.

It was confusing.

And it brought up a bunch of unresolved feelings about her family.

If she did a training program then Ron would find out about her true past. And Harry, since he was an Auror too. Then her whole family.

She could cast a compulsion charm on the whole lot of Auror's so they couldn't tell anyone about her.

If she did it, then she could start off by exposing their weaknesses. That could be kind of fun. She certainly wasn't going to be working for MACUSA after this job, and as much as she liked the team in Canada, it was incredibly boring.

She could just rip the bandaid off and go back to the UK for a month or so, do two weeks of stake out before two weeks of training. Maybe it would be the start of rebuilding a life that included her family.

She thought that idea over as she continued her trek through the forest and down to the beach closer to town. She was going to stop in and see Winston, have a meal and drink at the bar and then head back to the mansion to sleep away the rest of the day.

()()

Pansy and Mikhai were out by the pool when she returned just before 4pm. She tried to avoid them, but Mikhai spotted her and called her out to join them.

They were both in their suits and she was all sweaty from her hike back up the valley and just wanted water and shower before crashing, but instead she dutifully went out to join them.

"Enjoy your day off?" Pansy sneered.

"Yes." Ginny answered shortly. It was hard to figure out which of the two of them was the one killing Auror's that got too close. Or ordering the hits anyways. Could be both of them. "It was good to get out. Yes. Now, I'm going to shower and sleep, so if you'll excuse me."

"Join us." Mikhai gestured to the platter of crudites and cheese. The two of them seemed so rehearsed in all they did.

They were so odd.

"Pansy tells me you have siblings." Mikhai stated.

"Several. I don't speak to any of them." She answered honestly.

"One is an Auror." Mikhai said. This wasn't a question.

Ginny shrugged. "That'd probably be Ron."

"The one who is friends with Harry Potter? Your family was in the Order of Phoenix. Those against Voldemort."

"His name was Tom Riddle, and I don't like talking about my family. We have nothing to do with each other." She stood up, agitated and left.

Ginny reached her room, closed the door and rested her back against the wood. What was their game? Was she going to be used as one of their pawns? An in to the Auror office in the UK or the Order?

She shivered.

They made her so uncomfortable.

She had so far secured recipes only. There was no indication of the who the customers were. Getting Mikhai's notebook would let her know what else he was creating, but she was sure that Pansy was the one with the actual distribution information, but Ginny had no idea where that info was being kept.

()()()

Weeks passed by and Ginny had managed to send and receive work to the States. Pansy and Mikhai were still so forced around her. Mikhai spent more and more time at his work station, and less looking over her shoulder.

All of the potions were a process to complete. She paid special attention to the bottling process and handed off the vials to Pansy.

She did find out where Pansy was keeping her accounting information, but it was in a warded room with a large window overlooking the valley.

Ginny had the manor mapped out, not that it was hard. But even if she used a grapling hook to get in through the office window, she'd probably be thrown by the ward and plummet to her death down the valley.

Owls had no trouble going in and out of the window, so perhaps as a fox she would be able to get in?

It was mid June when she finally worked up her nerve to give it a go. It would take some serious parkour style moves to get her up there scaling the wall, but she was going to give it a shot.

This undercover job was getting to her. She was so tense all the time. Even the circus stint was more relaxing than this.

Ginny didn't do her break in in the middle of the night. She found her perfect opportunity after lunch one day when she knew Pansy was elsewhere, and Mikhai was in the lab. He was used to her taking some time to get their meals because she was still preparing her own. Instead of getting right to the kitchen she stepped outside and did a slow stretch, so it would look like she was just taking a breather before getting back to it should the elf notice.

The coast was clear when she looked around and she strolled over and jumped the fence at the end of the veranda, launching herself at the drainpipe and climbing up to the roof. It hurt like hell on her hands and feet, and had her using the muscles she had used all the time when she did the silks, but they hadn't been exercised in a while.

There were anti-Apparation wards all around the home, so this was her only option. Thankfully she made it to the roof.

Once there she transformed into her Animagus and peered down over the ledge to where the office window was below. If she had the Animagus of a bird, like Emmerson, this would be so easy.

Shaking her nerves out from ear tips to tail she scampered to dangle off the roof and swing herself with one paw so she'd fall closest to the window.

It worked!

She managed to catch herself on the girder at the base of the window and slink in.

For a moment she just stood there and a shiver ran through her. She took a deep breath and looked around the office, then changed back out of her Animagus form.

It was fairly sparse. There was a big white desk at one side of the room, and a vanity at the other with a chaise lounge in the corner. A huge walk in closet as well.

Looked like Pansy relaxed in there sometimes.

Ginny went straight to the desk and had to mentally chastise herself as she reached for the first drawer. She grew up with Fred and George. She should know better than to just try opening drawers willy nilly. She quickly examined the desk looking for spells of booby traps and found none.

Huh.

Okay then.

She opened the first drawer and found parchment, quills and owl treats.

In the second and larger drawer she found files. Orders and recordings of payments stretching back three years at least. There was no way she had time to go through all of these.

"Did you get lost?" Mikhai's deep voice startled her.

Ginny froze and closed her eyes in fear and disappointment.

She was caught.

It was very obvious what she'd been doing.

She left the bottom drawer open and turned to face him. He was standing in the open doorway and had a gun trained on her. The look in his eye told her how furious he was, though his face did not portray it.

"I really hoped you would work out Ginevra." He shook his head. "Who do you work for?"

She didn't lose eye contact with him. "Hunter Bastien." She said evenly.

He tilted his head sightly. "How did you pass Pansy's test?"

"Weak Veritaserum and the wrong questions." Her brain was quickly going over her options for escape, and dismissing quite a few of them.

"Hmm. My wife is not the best at potions. She has all the contacts and an excellent understanding of how to be discrete, but perhaps I will have to be a part of her vetting process." He sighed. "Oh well. On to the next." He aimed his gun and fired.

Ginny had known enough about the Muggle weapon to move quickly when one was being aimed at her. She ducked and rolled to the side. He fired again and she felt the bullet graze her arm.

"Expelliamus." She didn't know if the spell would launch the gun from his hand like it would a wand, but it did. "Incarcerus."

Mikhai was bound by invisible cords and fell bound to the floor. It was then that she noticed high in the corner above the door was a CCTV camera.

She'd been so stupid not to think of that. He couldn't do magic to the point of a wand being overly useful and had resorted to Muggle technology to secure their home. He must have had a motion sensor in the room somewhere too.

There was a crack beside her and she didn't think before sending a blasting curse at the House Elf that had appeared, knocking it unconscious as it hit the wall.

Rushing back to the files, she just grabbed everything she could and reduced it down to fit in her pocket and bolted, leaving the bound Mikhai and knocked out House Elf where they were.

She ran out of the house and just kept running until she didn't feel the restriction of an Anti-Apparation ward, then found her way to the airport.

There was no time to arrange a portkey back to New York, and no one could Apparate that far, even if it wasn't illegal.

She quickly stole into a shop and purchased a suitcase, then some random clothes and souvenirs and transfigured herself a passport.

With one weepy explanation of a holiday break-up to the American Airlines ticket agent she'd bought a flight back to the States and was out of there.

The whole one hour wait until the next flight departed she hung out in the bathroom. It was the most secure place in the terminal.

By the time she touched down in Norfolk, Virginia she could breath regularly again.

Her job was done.

Pansy and Mikhai may take off and start up somewhere new, but she knew their recipes, and now she had a list of their customers and suppliers.

And she wasn't dead.

Head Auror Jones might get pissed about how it all ended, but she did what he'd asked.

She exited the airport and headed straight for the parking garage, top floor, abandoning her suitcase and Apparated straight to the headquarters of MACUSA.

She hastily checked in with security and went straight for the Head Auror's office.

He was in a meeting, but she didn't care to wait. Opening the door to his office she saw him narrow his eyes at her for the interruption, not registering who she was at first. Then he stood up abruptly as the situation clicked.

"Everybody out!" He nearly yelled.

The three confused Auror's he'd been in the meeting with all filed out and she closed the door behind them. Jones threw up silencing spell and locked the door.

Ginny said nothing, but pulled the files from her pocket and restored them to size.

They both stared at them and sank down in their seats and stared at them some more. Jones reached into his desk and pulled out a bottle of whisky and two glasses, pouring a finger for each of them.

Ginny shot hers back.

"I'll need a notebook." She managed. Jones gave her a confused look. "The recipes. They aren't in there. But I do have them memorized right now."

He nodded and grabbed a notebook from the shelf behind him and handed her his pen.

"Once you're done we'll talk." He told her and they both worked in silence, her writing down the recipes, him going through the files.

Even with the monthly updates she'd been sending, it still took two weeks to describe every detail of her assignment she could remember.

A team had been sent to infiltrate the Lennox house, but it had been cleared out.

Word was sent to Head Auror Spellman in Australia to keep a close eye on anyone that went to visit Hunter Bastien in prison, but not exactly why, and he promised to keep any visitors there for more than two hours. But for now, Pansy and Mikhai were in the wind.

With the MACUSA assignment over Ginny didn't know what she wanted to do. Go back to New Zealand, head to Australia to help keep an eye out for the Lennox's, or take up the UK's request for training. In the end, she flipped a coin twice. Two heads meant she'd go to New Zealand. Two tails meant Australia. One of each meant UK.

She let the fates decide.

Fate is a bitch sometimes.

With that, Ginny sent word to Head Auror Greyson Scrimgeour that the Chameleon was on it's way to London, be prepared.


	22. BOLO' s and Burrow Lunches

**AN- No. Mikhai Lennox is not a Muggle. Nor is he a Squib. Otherwise he wouldn't properly be able to brew potions.**

**London 2004**

"Hello" Ginny called from the fireplace. "Anyone home?"

A thumping noise could be heard getting closer and louder. "Aunt Ginny!" A teenage girl ran into the room and came to her knees in front of the hearth. "Where are you? When are you coming home again?"

"Oh my God!" Ginny exclaimed. "Isabelle, I thought you were Katy for a moment there!" She regarded the girl. It had only been two years since she'd seen her last, but two years was a lifetime for a pre-teen, and the growth spurts proved it. Her face had filled out and she was getting her 'starter boobs'. "Is it completely cheesy to say you are all grown up?"

Isabelle rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. I'm constantly getting compared to my sister. It's so annoying."

"Hey girl, your sister is pretty and intelligent. Take it as a compliment."

"Damn right!" Katy said walking into the room briskly and coming to sit by her little sister.

"Holy crap Katy! Look at your boobs!" Ginny teased, earning the expected reaction of a blush from the older girl. Both Jake and his wife were only children. She had a lot of weight to pull in the embarrassing auntie category, and had been slacking on her duties for a while. "When do you two go back to school?"

"Two days. We're just home on weekend pass." Isabelle told her happily. "And you didn't answer my question. When are you coming home?"

"Well..." Ginny drew out, trying to build the anticipation. "Hmm..."

"Alright. Don't torture them." Jake walked into the living room beaming. "When are you coming home? And where the heck are you?"

"Jake! Just the man I was looking for before these girls distracted me with their beauty. Sure you don't have some Veela mixed in your blood somewhere?"

"You're in a good mood!" Jake said. "Girls, get back to the table." He shooed them away from the fireplace and pulled over a chair to sit in.

"I'm good as." Ginny smiled.

"Answer the questions woman." He growled playfully.

"Well, I was wondering how your Auror team is doing." She asked gently and batted her eye lashes.

He let out a laugh. "Seriously? You're coming back! Fantastic. We missed you around here. The girls especially."

"So, you've got room for me?"

"Of course."

"What about me plus another experienced Auror?" She asked coyly.

Jake's one eyebrow went up slowly and he gave her a crooked smile. "Would this happen to be a male Auror?"

"It would." She told him slowly.

"And you've deemed him worthy?!" He was unbelieving. "Must be someone impressive."

"I'll say." She agreed. "We'll be heading your way in a week but wouldn't be looking to start working until nearer the beginning of October."

"You'll be here in a week?" he asked sounding pleased. There was some loud 'Yay's heard in the back ground. His girls must have heard. "I'm putting you on contract then. You won't be going anywhere for two years at least!"

Ginny laughed. "Just like that? And you don't even care who it is I'm bringing with me?" She was anticipating seeing his reaction.

"Oh I'll put the screws to him when he gets here, make no mistake." He looked back over his shoulder and said loudly. "I'll interrogate anyone my girls bring home."

"Now you're just encouraging them not to bring their boyfriends home." Ginny pointed out.

He shrugged. "I have other ways of finding out about anyone they might be canoodling with. Alright, what's your mans name then? I'll look out for his CV." He grabbed a scrap of paper and a pen off his coffee table.

"Harry Potter."

Jake just stared at her, then let out a laugh. "No seriously. What's his name?"

"Jake. I'm dead serious. He's right behind me making breakfast if you want to talk to him." She smirked.

He shook his head and tossed the pen and paper back on the table. "Of course. You finally get serious with someone and it just has to be someone I can't intimidate."

"Oh, I don't know about that. I still think you should try."

Hi brow furrowed "So this means you're in England then?"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Yes." She said through clenched teeth.

He made a show of being nonchalant about it. Relaxing back in his chair, wiping the back of a finger along the underside of his nose and sniffling a bit. "How's it going over there then?"

"What did you do? I know you had a hand in setting this up."

He merely poked out his bottom lip and gutted his chin out a bit.

"I'll get it out of you when we're properly face to face." She threatened.

"One week?" He smiled.

"One week." She smiled back.

"And I'll ask around about a place for you and your man there. Separate bedrooms, right?" He teased.

Ginny rolled her eyes and smiled. "See you in a week."

()()()

When she pulled her head back from the fireplace the smell of bacon and coffee filled her nose. "You are the perfect man." She smiled as she headed over to the breakfast bar.

"Like that do you?" He made a show of throwing a dish towel over his shoulder and dramatically flipping the bacon sizzling on the frying pan.

"Oh yeah, real sexy like." She made a show of looking him over approvingly. He was only wearing a pair of pajama bottoms. She quite enjoyed eyeing up his frame, and the lovely treasure trail of hair that led from his navel down into those bottoms.

The previous night when they got home she didn't ask him about what his life had been like before Hogwarts. While she was dying to know, they had plenty of time to discuss it, and last night after the arrest and all the drinking hadn't been the right time to bring it up.

Now wasn't the right time either. They had to head into the Ministry after breakfast to give statements to the American Aurors.

Instead of talking about his past when they got home last night, they snogged and stumbled their way to the bedroom, tossing clothes as they went and laughed a lot as she filled him in on the different sex positions and their names. That time she didn't use condiments to demonstrate.

While messing around with the different positions was fun, they'd reverted back to the old reliable to finish off their night and cuddle together as sleep over took them.

"So? What did Head Auror Burke have to say?" Harry asked as he grabbed plates.

"Well, he's thrilled that I'm coming back, and was only a little surprised when I told him about bringing someone back with me that is also a fully trained Auror."

"Only a little?" He teased.

"Okay. He was super happy for me. And didn't believe me at first when I told him your name." Harry rolled his eyes. "Yes well, we're going to be expected to stay with him and his wife for a day or two I'd imagine. But he said he'd ask around about places available for us."

Harry beamed at that. "I'm really excited." He confessed and put her plate in front of her, taking a seat at the counter beside her.

"Me too." She bounced a bit. "I haven't been back for near two years now! Katy and Isabelle are all grown up." She frowned. "Which actually got me thinking about my... real nieces."

Harry took a sip of his tea and encouraged her to continue her train of thought with his eyes.

"Well. They are really young, right? But. I was thinking I should get them something. A present. I mean, when started visiting Jake's girls fairly regularly I would get them little gifts, and I want to get my three nieces something too."

"Okay. Like what?"

"Well, I'd imagine they are too young for hula hoops."

He chuckled. "You'd be right about that."

"So maybe after the Ministry we could go to a toy store in the Muggle world?"

"Sounds like fun." He gave her a kiss on the cheek.

()()()

Scrimgeour had four Auror's in his office from America when Ginny and Harry arrived. The door was closed, but the blinds were open enough that he could see they'd arrived.

"Hey there." Zabini came towards them from the kitchen, looking like he didn't get much sleep the night before. He had a big steaming cup of coffee in his hand.

"Geez, where did you wake up this morning?" Ginny looked over his rumpled clothes.

"Not even sure really. Just left the birds place and Apparated here."

"And where is Draco?" Harry asked as they all headed over to crowd around his desk, it was closest to the Head Auror's office.

"Don't know, but he should be here shortly." Zabini shook his head and pulled Ron's wheelie chair over. Ginny sat down on the desk. "This still has me surprised. I mean, Pansy was a nuisance more than anything at school. The number of times I'd walked in on her and Draco snogging, and more, in the dorm room was downright irritating. But I always figured she'd just wind up some trophy wife that would get pulled out at functions."

"On the outside, that's what it looked like she was. She just had more of a head for business than her husband." Ginny told him.

"Think you'll be allowed to tell us what they did?" Harry asked her.

Ginny shrugged in response.

"Are you allowed to tell us how those two managed to find each other? I don't remember anyone named Mikhai, even if he is a bit older." Zabini asked.

"I don't know how they met or wound up together, just that he was the sole heir to some family fortune. If they had to go running to Draco for help then I don't know if they blew through that fortune to maintain their lifestyle, or if they have just been cut off from their money." She told them. "I can only speculate about the more nefarious reasons behind them trying to run and lay low. Their coming out to the pub last night has me completely flummoxed though."

"Same here." Harry stated. Zabini nodded. "I mean, they knew that Draco was an Auror now, right?" He asked Zabini specifically.

"She found out when she got here actually." Malfoy told them as he approached. He had just arrived, looking much more put together than his best mate.

"And how did she react to that?" Harry asked him.

He thought back about it, causing a wrinkle between his brows. "She was surprised to say the least. We hadn't spoken to each other for a few years. She'd completely dropped off the map by the time Blaise and I were done with our gallivanting."

Zabini nodded. "And how did her husband react?"

Malfoy shrugged on shoulder. "He didn't say anything."

"He's not much of a talker." Ginny told them.

The door to the Head Auror's office opened abruptly and he stomped out, heading directly for the conference room and pointing to it, indicating that the four of them follow him and the four American Aurors following behind him.

The tables and chairs had been arranged in a circle and everyone took a seat.

"Now then." One of the American Auror's that looked to be about 40 with a receding hairline and on the husky side. He was looking at Ginny. "You were involved in the undercover operation that started the hunt for these two, and you just happen to come across them at a local establishment that was full of Aurors. Yet you were the one to arrest them, not the others."

Ginny just stared at him with narrowed eyes and felt the familiar set of her mouth slip into resting bitch face. It sounded like he was accusing her of something.

"Well?" Mr. Receding hairline asked.

"Well what?" Ginny asked through her clenched teeth.

"Are you going to answer my question?"

"You hadn't asked one. You just made accusatory statements. I believe what you should have asked is for me or either of these three gents." She gestured to the men on either side of her. "To walk you through their version of the events from last night up until the capture and arrest of the two criminals that the American Ministry of Magic never bothered to put a BOLO out on, completely ignoring the fact that neither of those criminals were American, thus concluding that when they fled it would have been most likely they headed back to familiar ground."

"We have been focused on the underground networks that they were supplying." Another of the Americans defended.

Ginny clapped slowly three times then leaned forward, conspiratorially. "You know what would be a better source of information to find those underground networks?" She asked quietly. "Their fucking suppliers." She stated loudly.

The four Americans sneered at her and adjusted in their seats.

"Did you bring me something from Head Auror Jones stating that I'm even allowed to discuss the case?" She snapped.

"We've filled in Head Auror Scrimgeour with everything he needed to know." The main guy commented.

"So... no." She leaned back in her chair. "Fine then. Saw the two of them come in the pub. When the female of the two saw me I noticed her reach for her wand, and I reacted. Froze the male and disarmed the female before binding her and shutting her up. Had him." She pointed to Malfoy. "Search the male for a Muggle weapon, then the four of us brought them back to Ministry to lock them up and had our Head Auror contact yours to tell him I did his job for him. Again."

Head Auror Scrimgeour looked proud surrounded by the four scowling Americans.

The main guy turned to Malfoy and asked for his version, then received the stories from Zabini and Harry as well.

"Now then." One of the nicer looking ones on the American team turned to Malfoy specifically. "The two of them had been staying at your home?"

Malfoy nodded. "I have known Pansy since we were children. She said she needed a place to stay for a while, and she'd been staying there since Tuesday."

"Did she tell you anything about what she'd been doing the past few years?"

"No. Last night was when we were going properly talk for the first time."

"She's been at your home for four days, and you want us to believe you haven't held a conversation with her? Had her make mention of any plans she might have? Or, anyone else she might be in contact with?"

Malfoy looked unimpressed with these Aurors. "She's been at my country home. My manor. They were there alone. I have a flat in the city." He bit back.

"Alright." Scrimgeour slammed his hands down on the desk at their expressions of mis-trust toward his people. "They've told you their versions of the apprehension. How about you move on to the actual criminals."

"Fine." The main guy stood up, followed by the others. "But you four will need to stick around in case we have any follow up questions."

"Just learn how to form a question." Ginny said sweetly.

He didn't respond verbally, he just narrowed his eyes at her and followed the others out, led by Scrimgeour.

"That guys a prick." Zabini stated after the door closed.

Ginny held a finger to her lips and stood up, walking around to the other side of the tables. She patted down the seats, ran her hand underneath the chair bottoms, then along the underside of the tables they'd been sat at while the three men just stared at her in confusion.

There was a small protuberance under the table at the spot the nicer Auror had been sitting. She dropped down and found a Muggle listening device.

She peeled it off and dropped it in a glass of water on the table.

"They were trying to spy on us?" Harry asked angrily.

"Yeah. Not the most trusting bunch. That much was apparent from their shitty interrogation skills." She checked to see if there were any more of the devices, but found nothing. After completely missing the CCTV at the Lennox house she wasn't going to make that mistake again.

The door to the room opened and they all turned to see Auror DeRabbie come in. "Saw the guys brought over to take those two back to the States." He said taking a seat beside Zabini. "You're gagging spell wore off before I was relieved last night." He told Ginny.

"What did she say to you?" Malfoy asked. His eyes were wide with interest.

"She mostly just screamed in frustration, and started yelling things at her husband in.. I don't know what language that was, Russian maybe?"

"Maybe, but I'd bet it was Belarusian." Ginny corrected. "Anything else that you did understand?"

He nodded. "She was asking about you specifically. Asking how long you'd been working here and the like. Yelled at her husband that he should have shot you when he had the chance."

Harry's eyes snapped over to Ginny's at that. She gave him a disregarding shake of her head.

"Anything else?" Zabini asked.

"She was asking that I get you." DeRabbie indicated to Malfoy. "Seemed to think you'd make all of this go away."

Both Zabini and Malfoy scoffed at that. "Of course she did." Malfoy said. "You know." He turned to Ginny. "She knew that your brother was one of the Auror's I worked with. I mentioned that Ron and Harry would be out with us last night. Told her to be on her best behavior. She seemed quite intrigued by that. I bet she thought she could suss out something about you from them."

Harry cut in before she could respond. "Are you able to tell us anything about what it was you did with them?"

"Not without Head Auror Jones' permission." She leaned over a bit to see through the blinds into the bull pen. "I really want to talk to him too. I feel like a fucking idiot for not following up about them. Some 'legendary Auror' I am, eh?"

"We all make mistakes like that." Harry countered.

Ginny nodded, not really listening. She bit the corner of her lip and looked in the eyes of each of the four men in the room, a plan forming. "So... If I was to use the Floo in Scrimgeours office right now..."

DeRabbie shifted uncomfortably, but the three others smiled conspiratorially.

Ginny stood up. "I may have to use the toilet." She blatantly lied and went to the door.

"Hold up." Harry said with a humorous expression. "I should really start packing up my desk." In fact he was offering to be her look out.

"Yeah." Zabini stood up too. "I could use a little more coffee. Didn't you need some too?" He asked Malfoy.

"I'm good on the coffee front. Think I'll go and have a chat with Auror Fernandez over there though." He gestured towards the pretty Junior Auror at her desk closest to Scrimgeours office.

"Right." DeRabbie stood up quickly. "And I should go and check if they need anymore help guarding the prisoners." He swallowed and set a quick pace out the door past them all. Clearly not wanting to be any more involved in this.

Ginny gave Harry's hand a squeeze and followed behind Malfoy, casually letting herself into the Head Auror's office as though she were allowed.

Now that she didn't strictly work for this Ministry's Aurors anymore she wasn't supposed to be anywhere unsupervised.

There was a high probability that Head Auror Jones wasn't even in his office, but she had to try. He had just sent Auror's over to deal with this situation, so he might be there waiting. It wasn't entirely odd that he didn't come with them. The Head Auror was supposed to remain at their Headquarters. And all of the Head Auror office Floo's were connected between the cooperating countries.

She grabbed a pinch of the powder and tossed it in the fireplace, calling out the location and sticking her head through. The fireplace in Jones' office was right behind his desk. "Lincoln Jones." She called out.

He was in his seat and turned around in his chair. "Who are you? How did you connect to my fireplace?"

Ginny had been on all fours and one of her arms gave out at the elbow in her shock at his question.

"Who am I?" She asked when she recovered. "You don't recognize me? I worked for you only a month ago. I spent two weeks sharing your desk."

His brow furrowed at that.

An icy sensation swept over her and she realized what had happened.

There had been someone in the American Auror's office that tipped off the Lennox's about who had gone to Puerto Rico to try and shut them down.

Ginny let out a slew of profanity. "Look." She swallowed. "Do you remember losing all of those Auror's in Puerto Rico a few months back?"

"How do you know about that? That was classified information!" He flushed red with anger.

"You went to Canada to borrow from their Auror team. Do you remember?"

"What? No." The shook his head angrily. "That was an open and shut case. We caught the one who'd killed them."

"No, you didn't. I did. They are here at the Ministry in London." Her adrenaline was pumping through her veins and making her shake slightly.

"Impossible!" He stood up. "Who are you?"

"Ginny Weasley." She told him. He gave no notice of recognition. "The Chameleon." She tried.

He blinked a few times. That name registered with him on some level. "I. I talked about the Chameleon. Someone. Scrimgeour, he asked about you at the Summit conference. I passed along letters..." The lines on his face deepened. "I." He shook his head. "Where are you? I'm coming there." he said with a hint of panic, realizing his memories had been altered.

"Head Auror Scrimgeours office, London." She said before pulling back.

She hardly had the opportunity to take a step before Jones came through. "What is the situation."

"First you need to allow me to break my vow of silence regarding the mission." She said hastily.

He didn't even stop to think about it, recognizing the seriousness of the situation. He waved his wand, said the incantation and tapped her arm with the tip of his wand. "I release you from your vow."

There was a warmth that radiated from her belly, it felt like she'd just taken her first sip of coffee for the day. She shook it off and gave him the cliffs notes version of the story before they both headed for the door.

"Harry, Zabini, Malfoy." She called through the bull pen. "We have a major problem." The three of them must have been perched, just waiting for her to call for them, because they rushed over and were there in a flash.

"Head Auror Jones from the American Ministry." She introduced. "Blaise Zabini, Draco Malfoy, and Harry Potter. Guys, his memory has been adjusted. He doesn't remember Pansy and Mikhai Lennox. He didn't even remember me."

"Anyone notice DeRabbie come back?" Zabini called out behind him. The weekend shift were all looking from one to the other shaking their heads.

"Right." Harry jumped to task. "You five." He pointed to the Auror's closest to him. "You come with us. The rest of you. There has been a breach. The American Aurors that came through here with Scrimgeour are currently thought to be working with the prisoners captured last night. If you see any of them stun first, ask questions later."

"Come on." Malfoy took up the lead heading down to the holding cells.

The ten of them went down the corridor towards the holding cells and more interrogation rooms. At least two guards should have been on duty before Scrimgeour and the American Aurors headed down there. Plus DeRabbie, so with the prisoners there should be only ten people down there, if the other cells weren't occupied.

The end game for the impostors, or dirty Aurors was unclear. They may have wanted to kill them, or capture them. Procedure would have to be followed closely in order to skirt skepticism. That would mean that since they were captured in this country, and Pansy was from this country, that they be thoroughly interrogated here before it was deemed that they were allowed to be extradited back to the States for sentencing.

Ginny ripping a strip off of the Aurors for not even putting out a BOLO on them should have turned them off of thinking she suspected them of anything, and because she knew everything about what the Lennox enterprise had been they might try to take her with them.

A hand touched her forearm and she followed that hand up to Harry's face. "Any idea what their game plan might be?" He whispered.

"I think we should assume that they are sticking to procedure as much as possible, but now we know they've used the Memory charm on their own Head Auror. So, my best guess is really just that." She whispered back.

"Then we should figure on them having split among the two interrogation rooms." Harry nodded.

They group of them slowed down when they came to the corner. Just around the corner was where the cells and interrogation rooms were.

The guards should still be stationed in the corridor.

Malfoy pulled a mirror from his pocket and used it to check. He held up two fingers and pointed to himself, then held up his palm for everyone to wait there for him before he squared his shoulders and went to approach the guards.

After a minute he came back and waved them all forward and put a finger to his lips for them to stay quiet.

They moved as a unit towards the interrogation rooms.

"Pansy and Scrimgeour are in this one with one of the American guys." The guard whispered to them, pointing to the closest room.

"Then we should go to the next room first." Ginny told them. "She knows more about the contacts, yes, but Mikhai is the Potion Master. He's the one the business was built around."

"Okay. Four of you, guard that door." Malfoy told Zabini and three of the Junior Aurors. They nodded and put their backs against the wall, two on each side of the door, while the other Aurors and Jones continued down the hall to the next room.

Harry turned to the guard. "Do you have a smoker?" The guard handed him a canister. Harry passed it on to Ginny. "It'd be more likely for you to be coming down here than any of us." He gestured to the door.

She took it and went to rap on the door, she was consciously trying to turn her anxiety into anger. She'd been on that mission for months trying to collect as much information on that operation and these fuckers were undoing everything.

Mr. Receding hairline opened the door to her. "What? We are in the middle of an interrogation."

She looked past him and saw Mikhai was writing out something. It looked like a recipe. She couldn't stop the smug smirk from coming to her face. "Do you mean to tell me that you didn't trust the recipes I wrote out?" She batted her eye lashes at him.

The anger dropped off his face to be replaced by a dumbfounded expression.

Harry shot a stunner at him over her shoulder just as she pulled the ring on the smoker and rolled it into the room and was yanked back by Malfoy to get out of the plumes of smoke erupting from the room.

The two other American Aurors stumbled out coughing and bent over. The more advanced Aurors let the Junior cast the stunners on them and levitate the three of them into the holding cells, removing their wands and checking for back-up wands.

Mikhai didn't come out of the room though. At this point he would have passed out from asphyxiation.

Ginny motioned for two of the Junior Aurors by the other interrogation room to switch with Harry and Malfoy so they could stand by the other room and make sure that if Mikhai came out he would be moved back to his own cell.

She walked up to the interrogation room with Pansy in it and knocked on the door.

DeRabbie opened it and raised his eyebrows in question. Ginny pushed the door open wider and shot a stunner at the lone dirty Auror in there.

"Weasley!" Scrimgeour thundered. "What are you thinking?"

"They did not have my authorization to be here." Head Auror Jones came up behind her.

Pansy merely pursed her lips and turned her head to the side and away from them, crossing her arms.

"What do you know about them Pansy?" Malfoy had taken note of his former paramours reaction.

She kept her mouth shut and tilted up her chin in defiance.

"Fine then." He turned to the two Head Aurors. "Permission to treat her as hostile and follow those procedures?" The both of them nodded. "Have any more of that potion from yesterday?" He asked Ginny.

"Absolutely." She grinned.

()()()()

The smoke cleared out of the interrogation room Mikhai had been in and he was found on the floor, passed out. He was quickly revived and sent into his own holding cell again. Head Auror Jones called more Auror's over from America and invited Ginny and Scrimgeour to join them for her to brief them on the case again.

Jones did a good job of hiding his embarrassment at having been obliviated under a thick layer of anger.

Harry, Draco and Blaise were hanging around Harry's desk. Harry was waiting for Ginny to finish up, and Draco had been asked to stay to be properly questioned about his relationship to Pansy Lennox.

Blaise had ducked out and gotten them all Cornish Pasty each for lunch, and an extra one for Ginny.

"How long do you think they'd been running that operation?" Blaise asked Draco.

"I honestly didn't know she was even married until Monday. Over a year at least." He answered non-commitally.

Harry had been feeling slightly sick to the stomach about what he'd heard when the four dirty Aurors were interrogated under Veritaserum. They'd been tipping off the Lennox's as to who was undercover in Puerto Rico trying to find them, and those Auror's had all wound up floating face down.

The thought that that could have been Ginny.

It was the four of them, plus nine other Aurors back in the States that were currently being arrested across the pond, had been assisting in distribution and helping the underground criminal operations evade capture.

It was disgusting. And he was sure that Ginny was about to self-combust at the point she heard that.

If it wasn't so serious he probably would have found the humor in how she went off 'Weasley Style' yelling that she'd risked her life to get that case closed and they'd just gone around brushing it under the rug and making everyone forget about it all together. Judging from the widened eyes of his coworkers, they too thought that there was actual steam coming off of her fire red hair.

"I mean, I know that there were dirty Auror's around during the war and what-not, and you hear about corruption in other countries. It's just. To see it firsthand." Blaise shook his head. "How many of their own did they essentially have killed?"

Harry looked around at the other Junior Aurors working at their desks. There was a bit more of a flurry of activity and excitement today, given what had happened just an hours ago. But he tried to see if he could just tell who would be most likely to betray their coworkers.

Of course he couldn't. That's why it was called back stabbing.

The door to the conference room opened and Ginny came out followed by a few others. She made her way directly to them, while the others went towards the holding cells.

"They're going to start transferring them back to New York." She said when she reached them. She looked a little tired, and a little bothered. Draco handed her the Cornish Pasty. "Ah, cheers." She moaned and took a bite out of it.

"Will they not need me to make a statement or anything?" He asked her, confused.

"Mmm." She took a napkin and wiped her mouth. "They will. But given the shift change for Auror's over there right now, they will have captured a few of the dirty guys they fingered, and want to get them all together to start on filing charges and dosing them to ask more questions. It might be a bit before they get to you."

"Do you have to go over there?" Harry asked her.

She shook her head. "I don't think so. I will have to completely recount my time spent working on the case again though. And what I remember of the potions." She growled. "Six months under cover, and I spent two weeks in Jones' office writing that shit out, just to have it taken by one of those fuckers." She shook her head. "No wonder there wasn't a BOLO out of them. I should have reached out to him sooner."

"Who? Jones?" Blaise asked.

"Yes. I should have done a follow up with him and asked you about her too." She pointed at Draco.

"Did those guys not know you were working here?" Harry asked her.

"No. No one did. I didn't tell Jones I was coming here, Jake didn't know until this morning either. I just signed off finishing up my contract with the Yanks and left. I'd like to say I did it that way because I knew something was fishy, but really I think it was more that I didn't want to come here and fail horribly at training you lot and have that on my record."

"Well you didn't fail horribly, that's for sure." Harry pointed out.

"Yeah. I'd put this in the 'win' column." Blaise told her. Draco nodded.

She pulled over a wheelie chair from another desk and sat down, leaning back and looking rather contemplative.

"What?" Harry asked her.

"Don't pay any attention to me." Ginny shook her head. "I'm just going over all the signs I missed so I don't make the same mistakes again." She took another bite of her food.

"Can you say them out loud?" Blaise asked her. "You've been making us all look like fools in training, I'd like to see you being more human."

They all shared a chuckle.

Two to one the American team led the six prisoners to Head Auror Scrimgeours office to go through to their New York office. Scrimgeour took up the rear talking with Jones. He looked over and saw the four of them and led his counterpart over.

"You all did a great job." Jones told them. "Miss Weasley, I know you were only with us for that one case, but any interest in coming to work for us full time? Greyson here tells me you aren't sticking around."

"Thank you for the offer, but I've lined up a position elsewhere." She told him politely.

"Eh, figured I'd ask." He eased and looked around at the three men around her. "Thank you for assisting us on this. It's a damn embarrassment on our part. Only a few of our group were let in on that particular case and they used that to their advantage."

"It was little more than dumb luck really." Harry told him, picking up on Ginny's thoughts from earlier.

"You'd be surprised how much dumb luck can have to do with things." Jones told him honestly. "By the way, good to meet you Potter." He put his hand out to shake Harry's. "I know Greyson was trying to get you to come to the Summit earlier this year. Everyone was hoping they'd finally get a chance to meet you."

Harry felt the tips of his ears blush at that. He'd had well over a decade of people gawking at him, and still wasn't used to, or comfortable, with it.

He shook Jones' hand.

"He's not a very good show dog." Draco said, looking at Harry unimpressed, but he couldn't hold the expression and broke into a grin.

"Anything else you'll need this lot to stick around for today?" Scrimgeour asked Jones.

"Auror Malfoy." Draco straightened up slightly. "Would you mind just dictating your interaction with Mrs. Lennox and her husband. As detailed as possible." Jones asked, and Draco nodded.

"I'll get an administrator in here to take your statement." Scrimgeour left them for a minute.

"And Auror Weasley. Well, I would like it if you could join me in New York for a few days to help get this sorted out."

Harry felt a weight settle on him.

This was the job. But they had plans. And she only had one week left before they left the country, so he couldn't help feeling bummed at the prospect of missing more time with her here, in this country.

"No." Ginny told him with a smile, surprising everyone. "I've an important function tomorrow, and plans for today that have already been interrupted. Come Monday I can use the Floo here to come over for a few hours a day in the afternoon, your morning, to fill you in on what you'd like. But I'm not going to be holed up in your office for two weeks straight like last time."

Auror Jones shifted a bit. "We can compensate you for your time-"

"It isn't about compensation." She cut him off. "Though, now that you bring it up, feel free to pay me the consultant rate." She added as an afterthought. "I'm supposed to be starting into a well deserved holiday, but it won't truly start until next Saturday, so all I can offer is a few hours a day for five days starting Monday."

Jones chewed on that a moment. Meanwhile Harry was trying not to grab the arms of her wheelie chair and tug her over to him for a deep appreciative kiss.

"I'll take what I can get." He squinted a little bit in thought, as though he was remembering something. "Were we ever in a closet together?"

Ginny's eyebrows went up, and she suppressed a snort. "You interviewed the Canadian candidates in a supply closet." She clarified.

Jones adjusted his stance a bit, seeming slightly embarrassed that he'd asked a question that had sounded so indecent. "Okay. Well, I'll just make sure to have all my questions ready for you for Monday morning then. 900 hours?"

"That's 1400 our time. That'll work just fine." Ginny told him straight faced.

Scrimgeour was on his way back with a stenographer.

"I'll ask our Head Auror to send along my statement as soon as I'm done." Draco told him.

Everyone that had somewhere to be went off in their different directions and Harry was left with Blaise and Ginny, who was still finishing up her lunch.

"Busy morning." Blaise put his face in his hands to rub his eyes.

He could tell that Ginny was still slightly wound up. She was holding herself a little tighter than usual, and had this stony look in her eyes.

"You sticking around and waiting for Draco?" Harry asked him.

"Yeah, may as well stick around." He yawned. "Can't take too long to get all that down."

"Shall we?" He asked Ginny. She gave him a lazy smile in response and stood up, kicking the chair back to the cubicle she snagged it from.

()()()

They avoided Diagon Alley and took the Muggle side exit into London.

"Did you still want to look for something for your nieces?" He asked her.

"Oh bugger! Thank you for reminding me. Yes." She exasperated. "I completely forgot."

"Understandable." He chuckled. "Want to stay in Muggle London for them?"

"Yeah. Can we just walk for a while too? I'm in a mood right now, and don't. Well. I could just do with a good walk and a think." She admitted. "Hope you don't mind if I'm a little quiet."

"No. I don't mind." He tucked her under his arm and they went for a long walk towards the Thames, doing a big loop around the river, going past Big Ben, Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, and the Cathedral, crossing every bridge they came across.

They stopped into a few book stores and toy shops for her to try finding something small for the girls. She was rather quiet, but still giggled with she was playing with yo-yo's and other wooden toys the girls were a little too young for.

Near dinner time they headed back to Harry's place, their place, and he scrounged around through the pantry and fridge for some semblance of food while she curled up on the couch with her chin on her knee.

"I think we should watch another movie tonight." Harry called her attention. Thinking it might give her a bit of a distraction after so many hours of contemplative silence.

"Yeah?" She looked back over her shoulder at him.

"Yeah. I don't have as big a selection as Bridgette has, but I do have a disc reader thing, and some movies."

She gave him a genuine smile and heaved a relaxing sigh. "That sounds perfect."

()()()

"Okay. I think that is enough." Harry told Ginny as she picked up their empty dishes to take to the sink after the movie.

She halted her movements and her brow furrowed quizzically. "No more berating yourself." He explained. They'd settled on The Boondock Saints for a movie, and it hadn't been the best choice to get her out of her head. "You missed something, yes. But how many people were in the know on the American side of things? How many minds were obliviated? Your part had been done. And, you brought it all about again. Just... I realize it's been only a few hours, but Ginny. You don't need to beat yourself up about this."

She let out a sigh and put the dishes in the sink, coming back to sit beside him on the couch and letting him put his arms around her while she leaned back against his arm. "I know." She kissed the back of his hand and looked in and around his eyes cautiously. "But before we move on to nicer things, are you comfortable telling me? Anything?"

His heart picked up a bit at that, and there was this strange ball of nothing that was lodged in his throat for a moment. She wanted him to tell her about his childhood. He wondered if her self-flagellation was the better or worse option.

She hadn't stopped her careful stare down. He felt certain he wouldn't be able to tell her anything when she was looking at him like that. He turned his head and scowled at the leg of his coffee table.

"I have an idea for how we can make it a little easier for you." She offered.

"How?" He sighed.

"Lets go to bed."

"What?"

"Come on." She stood up and held her hand out for him.

He took it and stood up. "How does us going to bed help me talk about my childhood?"

"It's called pillow talk. Some things are just easier when you are laying down comfortably with the lights off." She'd led him into the bedroom and started pulling her clothes off.

He stood at the entrance of his bedroom in a daze watching her strip all the way down to her birthday suit.

It was worth a try.

He took off all of his clothes too and joined her under the covers, taking a moment to enjoy the sensation of her cuddled up against his side and the feel of skin on skin.

"I know the story of what happened at your parents place obviously. But, who decided you had to go and live with your Aunt and Uncle?"

This was an easy place to start off. "Dumbledore. There was this ancient type of blood magic that would protect me apparently. It was my mothers blood, from when she sacrificed herself, so my aunt Petunia's blood created a sort of ward."

"And there wasn't anywhere else that would have been safer?"

"No where that he could think of apparently. I would have gone with Sirius probably, if he hadn't tried to kill Peter Pettigrew and gotten thrown in Azkaban."

"You had a cousin your age though?"

"Dudley. Yeah. He was a nightmare to grow up with. I don't think he realized how poorly his parents treated me until he grew up and I moved out. He was so spoiled. He threw a fit once on his birthday because his mountain of presents was one less than the year before."

"Did your birthdays get acknowledged?" She leisurely traced her hand up and down his chest, playing with his chest hair.

"No. I didn't even know I had one until I was six or so. I remember being so excited the night before my birthday, then it passed unnoticed by my relatives." Ginny held him a little tighter. "My eleventh birthday was the first time I was allowed to try cake. It was from Hagrid." He smiled in the darkness at the memory.

Ginny kissed his shoulder and encouraged him to keep talking.

"I met up with Dudley a year or so after the war. He apologized to me about how he used to bully me, and hit me. Told me he knew now how disgustingly his mum and dad had treated me."

"Where are they now?"

"My uncle Vernon died of a heart attack two years ago. Aunt Petunia is still in the same house. She had to get a part time job somewhere to make ends meet, but she's comfortable enough, so Dudley tells me."

"And Dudley?"

"Well, he got his act together a bit. Started taking care of himself a bit. He was a big boy. But he's slimmed down to a fairly healthy size, he went to uni and works in business somewhere, like his dad did. Had a girlfriend going the last time we met up. He's doing okay."

"What was the worst part, do you think?"

Harry pondered that. "I don't really know. It was all I knew. They never really 'beat' me. Just smacked me over the head a few times. Locked me in my cupboard."

"Locked you in your cupboard?" She asked angrily. "And you say it so casually."

"It was what I knew." He reinforced. "I slept in the cupboard under the stairs until my Hogwarts letter arrived. I was in charge of maintaining the house and the grounds. I did the cooking, and I got blamed if anything went wrong."

"So basically. You were their House Elf."

Harry let out a soft laugh, even though it clearly wasn't meant to be a joke. "Yes. But I was treated better than the Malfoy's House Elf."

Ginny paused, and Harry could almost hear the wrinkle in between her eyebrows forming. "How do you know what the Malfoy's treated their House Elf like?"

"His name was Dobby." He told her sadly. "He tried to 'save' me from what was going on in my second... year." Harry remembered then that Dobby was trying to save him from what was happening with Ginny.

Ginny got up on her elbow to look down at him. "The Malfoy's elf was trying to protect you? Because he knew what they'd done?"

"Erm. Yes." She was just looking at him, waiting for him to elaborate. "He blocked off the entrance to the platform at Kings Cross and cursed a bludger to attack me during a quidditch game before I talked him out of it."

Ginny held her position for a moment longer then dropped back down to snuggle into him again. Seemingly moving right passed that. "So you slept in the cupboard under the stairs and didn't get any birthdays, but it didn't seem wrong to you as a child."

"No, it was just how things were." He kept telling her little things about growing up. About Aunt Marge, who passed not long after her brother, and Dudley's gang until the silences between stories grew longer and longer until they were both asleep.

()()()()

Harry was flush against her back when she woke. His breath was on the back of her neck.

Which was irritating, and probably what woke her.

While it was lovely to share a bed with him, and she liked the feeling of him pressed up behind her, the feeling of his breath on the back of her exposed neck was not something she enjoyed.

She leaned back, putting a little extra push in her left shoulder to try and get him to lay on his back.

It worked.

Ginny turned to lay on her back too and slowly let her brain wake up as well.

Yesterday had been full on. She was supposed to have started her time off. Now it looked like that wasn't going to happen for another week.

Properly anyways.

She was fine doing an international Floo for a few hours a day to help out, but she'd be damned if she was going to give up any more than that.

There was only a small amount of time left in the UK, and she couldn't just bury herself in work anymore and ignore the other things in life. She was on the mend with her family. She and Harry were together in a way that would have completely boggled her mind three weeks ago. Things were going too well to disappear for a few days.

Jones had seemed fine with her coming to him for a few hours a day, and Harry had looked happy about it too.

Her pillow talk with Harry last night had been a good call. When she'd tried looking at him to talk about it on the couch, he'd essentially recoiled. With the lights off and completely comfortable in bed, it is so much easier to just let things flow out of you.

It was a knife to the heart to hear what his life was like before Hogwarts. And there was a chance that his relatives hadn't ever found out exactly what he'd been through in and after school as well. So, he had really been attacked from all sides.

Her family was really the only proper family he'd experienced.

Ginny couldn't stop picturing a dark haired, green eyed little boy so sad and used to being neglected that he didn't even shed tears over it, because he didn't know any different.

She would have given up her spot in her family for that little boy.

And now she had to see them all together today, plus the spouses and nieces that she'd never met.

Bill married Fleur and they had Victoire and Dominique. Charlie married Anush. Percy married Audrey and had Molly. George married Angelina.

She went through her list of names to make sure she didn't forget anyone. Only she and Fred weren't married.

The twins seemed to take her news really well, and she desperately hoped that Bill and Charlie will have been filled in by the time she got to the Burrow.

She was getting so tired of telling her story now. But at least it was easier to tell.

"Please stop grinding your teeth." Harry whispered, startling her a bit. "You'll give yourself a headache."

Her jaw did actually hurt, and she hadn't realized she'd been grinding her teeth. "Sorry." She whispered back.

"What are you thinking about?" She turned her head to face him and smiled softly. He was such a nice sight to wake up to.

"Just... everything."

"Well you've been staring pretty hard at the ceiling and nodding whilst twirling your hair for a while now."

She laughed lightly to herself. Ginny hadn't realized he'd even woken up. "Just thinking over yesterday. It was pretty jam packed. And about last night. And most recently I've been going over my brothers wives and offspring's names."

"Are you still worried?" He asked. "I mean, you've told the majority of them now. Just Bill and Charlie left, and honestly, they were the one's least effected."

"It's still going to be hard." She pouted, worrying.

He kissed her shoulder, and trailed kissed up to her neck and under her ear. "You can do this, and I will be right beside you. I promise."

()()()

Everyone was outside the Burrow when Harry and Ginny arrived at the top of the hill. They were the last one's there.

Ginny noticed right away that the Weasley men were all huddled off to one side in a circle, the faces she could see had a pretty serious set to them.

All the women were scattered about in pairs with drinks in their hands, gazes flickering back and forth between minding the children and checking on their men.

Her mother was the only person missing, and she was undoubtedly in the kitchen preparing food.

Ginny wondered in that moment if her mother was actually a genius. She'd always kicked the kids out of the house so she could putter around in the kitchen listening to her Celestina Warbuck and do her own thing. She loved cooking, and the kids and dad always had to 'leave her alone' because she was 'so busy'. But she was the one who had the most alone time and got the kids to do all the other chores.

She should have Floo'd into the kitchen. Then she could just settle herself into the corner of the kitchen and try to go unnoticed.

There were just so many of them.

Harry tugged on her hand and gave it a squeeze.

"You'll be fine. It's just Bill and Charlie, and they should have been filled in by now." He reminded her again and leaned over to give her a kiss on the cheek.

Mechanically she followed after him as he made his way down the hill.

The first to approach her was actually her nieces. She couldn't help the smile that came to her face taking in the strawberry blonde of Bill and Fleur's girls in their frocks that were certainly a Molly Weasley special. And Molly Weasley the second, who's face so resembled her fathers, also had a Weasley dress on, but hers was meticulously clean.

"Hello girls." Ginny greeted them.

"I'm Victoire!" Victoire shouted. "This is Dominique, and that's Molly!" She pointed out. "You're our Auntie! Like Auntie Gabrielle is our Auntie." Her face was all lit up with joy.

Ginny laughed quietly. "Yes I am. I've been travelling for a long time and haven't gotten to meet you before now."

"That's because you were bad." Molly stated. "But you aren't bad anymore. That's what my daddy says."

Ginny froze a moment. To a child under the age of five, her situation wouldn't have been something easily explained. "That's right." She told them solemnly. "It is much better to be good and nice." She turned to her bag. "Speaking of good. Do you like bubbles?"

The three of them stepped forward eagerly. "Yes!" The two eldest exclaimed.

Ginny took out bubble wands for all three of them and put down a plastic bowl, pouring in the bubble mixture. "Then lets see how you all get along with this, shall we?"

All three of them squealed at that and eagerly set about trying to make their bubbles.

"You have experience with children?" A womanly voice asked.

Ginny looked up and saw who she assumed was Audrey, Percy's wife. She, Angelina and Fleur had come over, but stayed back a few feet from the kids.

"Not much with one's this age. But I figured bubbles would be a fun idea for them." She stood back up and regarded her three sister-in-law's wearily. She had no idea what they thought of her.

Glancing behind them she saw her brothers were all watching the situation unfold now.

"Um." She maneuvered around the little girls who were now waving their bubble wands frantically, and held her hand out to Audrey. "Ginny." She greeted her, feeling this was the best way to start things off.

Audrey blinked at her once, before accepting her hand. "Audrey."

Ginny nodded. Then turned to the others. "And you would be Angelina?" She shook her hand too. "And Fleur." They too nodded and shook her hand.

Harry had simply stood back and observed the interaction, no doubt waiting to see if he could jump in and help her out if things got awkward.

"There are two girls that call me Auntie in New Zealand. I've known them since they were eight and nine, wormed my way into their hearts with hula-hoops, but these little one's are a bit too young for that." Ginny smiled hesitantly.

"Quite." Audrey gave her a tight smile back.

"They're adorable." She looked down as Dominique accidentally spilled all the bubble mixture into the grass. Without hesitating Ginny refilled it from the bottle she was still holding and gave the littlest one a pat on the head.

"You are super nervous." Angelina pointed out with a grin.

"Yeah." Ginny let out in a breath.

"Ve heard your story." Fleur told her gently. "Eet is horrible zat you vent true zat, but you come out ze othzer side." She cleared her throat. "Came out de other side." She forced. "Urg, I try to get de English pronunciasion correct for mes filles."

"Don't they have their father for that?" Ginny grinned. "It'll be great for them to be bilingual. Only a plus. Wish I could have picked up more French when I was in Canada, but the only words that stuck were the church related profanity."

All the sister-in-law's joined in her laugh.

"Oh! Ginny!" Hermione called from across the yard, walking over with Anush, Charlie's wife.

"You okay?" Harry whispered in her ear.

"Yeah. I think I'm okay." She whispered back.

"Okay. I'll go and get you a drink then." He told her and passed by Hermione, giving a brief hello to Anush.

"Ginny, this is Anush. Anush, Ginny." Hermione introduced.

Anush was a beauty. Svelte with caramel skin and big brown eyes with green tint, she looked Armenian, and there was a tough edge to her. Probably came from dealing with Dragons all day every day, and Ginny couldn't see any other type of girl for Charlie.

"It is good to finally meet you." Anush breathed out and pulled her into a hug, surprising Ginny.

"Nice to meet you too." Ginny awkwardly returned the hug.

"So Bill and Charlie have been all filled in. And Ron told me that Fred and George were at the bar with you all on Friday." Hermione was saying quickly. "He said that you managed to tell them the majority of the story before something happened and you had to leave? He didn't say what happened, but I know better than to ask. Anyways, once Bill and Charlie, and their lovely wives-" She cast a quick smile to Anush and Fleur "got here, your parents and Ron and Percy let them know what had actually happened to you. You know. In your first year."

"Um." Ginny looked wearily over to all of her brothers, who were still just standing still and staring at her. "Just that bit?"

"Well... Um." Hermione bit her lip.

"We don't know the 'ol story." Fleur said. "Clearly we are missing informa- peices." She stopped herself from another mis-pronunciation.

"Super." Ginny pouted.

"At least they know you weren't a slag in school." Angelina tried to help out.

"Yay." Ginny deadpanned. She knew she should go over to them, but she couldn't help feeling rooted to her spot.

Hermione came and took her hand. "Come on. It'll be over soon." She tugged her gently and Ginny went with her over to her brothers and her father.

Her father and Ron were smiling at her. Percy was fidgeting and adjusting his glasses. The other four were just looking uncomfortable.

"Hello." She said to the group.

"Hi" Ron beamed. The others just shifted awkwardly.

Ginny just stared at Ron a moment, before her eyes slid over to her father who was right beside him.

She noticed his hands twitch and thought he might have wanted to give her a hug in greeting. Something she hadn't had from her dad yet. She was actually scared of what kinds of emotions might come up from a hug from one of her parents. Breaking down in tears or something probably wouldn't be a good way to start off lunch.

"Little Molly loves bubbles." Percy blurted out. "That was a good call."

"Thanks. I was hoping that would go over well." She took a chance and looked into the eyes of her four other brothers one at a time. "To, um, to make this easier, how about you ask me one question each?" She suggested.

"Why now?" Bill asked immediately.

Ginny paused before answering as everyone looked at her eagerly waiting. "I couldn't say anything until Tom died, and I was not in the right head space just after either." She paused. "Um. Did you two hear about my part in the Battle of Hogwarts?" Bill and Charlie nodded once. "So. Um. After that, I just needed time to wrap my head around what I'd done, and then I was back at Hogwarts and it was kind of a comfort. Then, after I finished school and moved to New Zealand, I just started a new life sort of. Became and Auror, and then just kept moving around with the different opportunities. Head Auror Greyson Scrimgeour here reached out. Rather relentlessly. And I finally just flipped a coin and it told me to come back."

"You came back because of a coin toss?" Harry had come up beside her and handed her a glass.

She blushed slightly. "Yes."

"Why'd you steal stuff from our room when we were at the Order?" Fred asked her.

"That's the question that comes to mind?" Ron asked him, looking at him like he was crazy.

"I, uh. I don't know exactly what that one vial had, but-" Ginny bit her lip. "I kind of used it to burn off half of the Lestranges faces." She fidgeted. "There were three Death Eaters that came here one time when I was alone. I stole that potion and Peruvian Darkness powder from your room and managed to get away."

The twins looked from her to each other, then sharply over to Ron as they connected the time frame.

Charlie wasn't saying anything. George didn't seem to know what to ask her either.

"I think they might reserve their questions for later." Her father stated, regarding his boys.

Ginny looked down at the grass, then up to Charlie, who was staring at her intently. "I rescued and Antipodean Opaleye once." She spewed out. Somewhere in the recesses of her brain, that tidbit of information was thought to win his favor.

"De one from Australia?" Anush's voice came from behind her. She turned her head and nodded.

"Around the time you two got married. You heard about that?" Ginny felt much more comfortable talking directly to this woman she didn't have a history with.

"Yes. It did not come to our colony. Romania is to cold there for that species. But it is such a rare dragon that word spread." Anush came around to stand by her husband.

Charlie put his arm around her. "You saved it?" He asked quietly.

"Well. I just. It was kind of my ticket out of... um." She didn't know how much to tell them. She was still wanted by some of the criminal underground in Australia and the surrounding countries for taking down one of their main suppliers, and was supposed to keep that time to herself. "Yes."

"Aunt Ginny." Molly ran up to her and wrapped her arms around her leg. "Do you have more bubbles?"

Ginny looked down at the little girl and almost wanted to cry at how cute she was, looking up at her all smiles and excitement.

"Sure Duckie." She reached into her bag and handed her the bottle. "You think you can be super careful not to spill it on the grass?"

"I'm super responsbable." Molly told her seriously.

"Okay. Then I trust you." She ran her hand down the girls hair before she took off back to her cousins.

"How about some Quidditch?" Harry asked everyone.

"I'll just go in and see mum." Ginny told him and started walking to the kitchen.

"You don't want to play?" Ron asked.

"I've never... I haven't been on a broom in near ten years." Ginny thought back. She used to sneak out and steal a ride on her brothers brooms all the time. The year she had at home by herself she'd grab one every time her mother's back was turned, but the last time she was actually on them was two days after she'd turned fifteen.

"You've never played Quidditch?!" Harry asked astounded.

"Well." She gestured to all the other red-heads. "They never let me when I was little. And their friends never offered either." She gave him a pointed look.

"Well, I'm offering now." Harry gave her a pointed look right back with a crooked grin.

She looked nervously over at her brothers. Ron looked hopeful.

()()()

Ginny was handed a Cleansweep 12 and looked down at it with trepidation.

The last time she'd used a broom, for flying anyways, was when she was rushing back from the copse of trees to the north of where she now stood to put out the fire set on the Burrow's outer kitchen wall.

"You, uh. You know how to fly right?" Ron asked her, clearly taking in the expression on her face.

She looked up and noticed all of her brothers, as well as Harry and Angelina giving her wavering looks. Her siblings in particular, besides Ron, didn't look quite comfortable with the whole situation and were acting as best they could.

"I haven't been on a broom in a long time. Maybe I shouldn't." She went to hand it off to someone else.

"I thought you were going to be some great Quidditch star." Her father piped up from behind her. She turned around quickly at the sound of his voice. "Now you don't even fly?" His smile was still cautious, and his effort at trying to be nonchalant about what was going on was admirable, but again, bringing up the past.

"I used to knick into the broom shed all the time when I was little, yeah." She gripped the handle and slid her other hand along the shaft. "Then I... had other things stopping me." She let out a breath.

"Why don't you just go for a lap then first?" Ron suggested.

Ginny nodded and mounted the broom. It felt strange after all these years of not being on a broom. She hadn't even thought about how she'd wanted to be a Quidditch player when she was a little girl.

Remembering what her mothers reaction had been to that brought a small smile to her face.

She kicked off hard and shot up in the air. It was odd trying to keep balance and get her legs locked into the proper position.

The broom responded well enough to her slight directional pulls.

She took off as fast as she was comfortable with and zipped around the makeshift pitch near ten times before pulling up beside the rest of them who had huddled mid air in the center of the pitch.

"You seem to have the hang of it." Harry grinned.

"Like riding a bike, as they say." She gave him a fleeting smile and readjusted on her broom again.

"Right. So, Ron and Charlie are Keepers. Fred, George and Angelina are Chasers on team Red with Charlie. Harry, myself and... Ginny." Bill said her name awkwardly. "Are Chasers on blue team with Ron." He waved his wand and changed their shirt colors.

Ginny wasn't at all sure about this. She was bound to be crap at it, and if she played with any sort of aggression that probably wouldn't go over very well.

The Quaffel was sent up by Anush and the game of three a side started. All the others were quick, and pretty decent at maneuvering. Ginny didn't have any experience with trying to find a strategy for getting the Quaffel through the hoops, so she did what she could to try and knock the ball out from the arms of the other team and toss it to Bill or Harry.

It was kind of a relief to be playing against Fred and George whom she'd had a proper chat with the other night, instead of trying to play like this against Bill or Charlie as Chasers.

After a half hour of playing they were called down to lunch with the score being 60-30 in favor of red team. Angelina was actually a semi-professional Quidditch player and had played with the twins all through out school, as well as pick up games. It was no wonder they well out performed the blue team, even with Ron being the better Keeper.

"Did you have fun?" Harry asked her teasingly when they were putting away the brooms. The others were already on the way to the table and a few yards away.

Ginny could feel the flush on her cheeks from the wind. It had been quite a lot of fun to play. A few times she'd forgotten that she was playing her estranged family and just enjoyed the thrill of the game. "I had a lot of fun actually." She beamed. "I can't believe I've never actually done that before!"

They'd caught up to the lunch table. "You've really never played before?" Bill asked her.

She shook her head. "No. I went to a few games when I lived in Australia. My roommate worked for the Ministry in Sports and scored us a few tickets. I remember really wanting to play when I was younger, but you know... life." She finished lamely.

The table was sporting over fifteen people, she and Harry were near the middle.

Her mum came out of the Burrow with the kids on her heals. "Alright, everybody dig in!" She paused at the sight of Ginny and gave her a watery smile before taking a seat at the head of the table. All the kids filed off to sit by their parents, and Harry reached over and squeezed Ginny's hand.

Everyone was fairly quiet as the dishes were passed around and plates were loaded.

"Do you have more bubbles?" Young Molly asked Ginny.

"I think I can make some more for you after lunch." She told her.

"Where did you come from?" Victoire asked her.

There was a straightening of shoulders all around at that.

"How do you mean?" Ginny asked her other niece.

"Daddy said you were our Auntie. Are you our Auntie because you married Uncle Harry?"

"Umm..." Ginny turned to Bill and Fleur, hoping they'd field this one.

Bill cleared his throat. "No honey. Aunt Ginny is my little sister. Like Dominique is your sister."

Victoire wrinkled her nose. "Has she been locked in the locked room inside Grandma and Grandpa's forever?"

"What?" Ginny turned to her mum for an explanation.

"We locked up your room when you didn't come back after Hogwarts." She told her softly.

"No one's been in that room for seven years?" Ginny exclaimed. "But. But there's, there was nothing in there... just stuff from before I went to Hogwarts."

"We just couldn't-" Her dad started from the other end of the table.

A silence descended over the table again and slowly everyone returned to their plates.

Ginny just pushed her food around on her plate. It had been hard on all of them, what happened to her. If there was a better way for it to have been handled, she didn't know. They were all here now however.

"I'm glad Ron and Hermione finally got together." Ginny blurted out. "I remember seeing you and Lavender Brown. It was nauseating." She looked across the table at Ron, who was looking rather shocked at her choice of conversation. "When you were in the hospital wing from that poisoned mead, I saw you faking being asleep to get her to go away." She shook her head.

"What? You were there?" he asked, astounded.

"Well." She shifted slightly. "Yeah. I came to check on you and, just, sort of stuck around for a while." She told him. Everyone else was listening intently. "I was disillusioned, so you wouldn't have seen me. But I remember Lavender coming in and you faking sleep, then trying to look your best when Hermione came in." She smiled at Hermione.

"You came to check on me?" He said weakly.

"I... yes. You were really close to..." She couldn't find the right words. And she'd gone and made it awkward again. "What ever happened to Lavender Brown?" She tried to move the conversation along again.

"She died." Hermione said quietly. "The Battle of Hogwarts."

"Oh." Ginny looked back down at her plate. There hadn't been too many casualties on their side during the Battle of Hogwarts. Most of the deaths the Death Eaters caused were before the final battle. There had been a monument dedicated to those that had perished during the war, but she'd never checked it out. She hadn't exactly been close to Lavender Brown either.

"How's the shop?" Harry asked Fred and George.

()()()

The rest of lunch passed with forced and polite conversation.

There hadn't been any alcoholic drinks on the table. If there had, maybe this could have been easier on everyone.

Ginny was nearing the point of wishing someone would yell at her or something. Just so there was some real emotion being shown. She couldn't help casting pained expressions over to Harry and Hermione.

It was just so uncomfortable.

She'd jumped right up and started helping clear the dishes when lunch was over. The other women at the table were doing it too, and being stuck in the kitchen with the women folk was looking a hell of a lot more appealing than sitting with her brothers for any longer.

The sigh she released when she entered the kitchen was heard by Anush, who giggled.

"It is uncomfortable. It was not like this the last time I visited." Anush said as she took the bowls from Ginny's hands and started packaging the left overs up.

"Percy is certainly a little more tense than usual. And he was here for the little get together on Wednesday." Audrey said joining them at the big kitchen table.

"I have no idea what to say." Ginny admitted to them easily as Fleur and Hermione came in. She ran her hands over her face.

Hermione put one arm around Ginny's shoulders and hugged her to her side. "You knew it was going to be awkward right?"

"Of course." She lay her head down on Hermione's shoulder too with another sigh. "The Quidditch was fun though." She straightened up.

Angelina smiled brightly at her. "You did really well for never having played before. Rather a natural on a broom."

"Thanks!" Ginny smiled. "It was a dream when I was younger."

"So, you were possessed?" Anush asked bluntly.

Ginny turned to her abruptly.

"This is why your family did not speak of you for so long?" she continued.

The other women looked slightly worried.

"Yes." Ginny breathed out in relief. "I was only possessed for most of my first year at school. But apparently I was a real nasty piece of work, and there was a compulsion charm of sorts that stopped me from explaining my side to the people I cared about." Hermione moved her arm from around Ginny's shoulders to direct her to sit in a chair.

"Your life sounds like it's been fairly exciting since you left school." Audrey picked up.

"Yeah. I guess it has been. I've just sort of been moving from one place to another and making the most of it." Ginny told them.

"So you tried surfing and snorkeling and such? I would love to do that." Audrey stared off wistfully.

"You didn't go somewhere nice and hot for your honeymoon?" Ginny asked her.

"We haven't taken one yet." She shrugged.

"What? What are you waiting for? I'm sure my mum would love to watch Molly for a week. You could still snorkel when you're pregnant. Probably wouldn't recommend the surfing though." She thought.

"Well, Percy is quite involved in his work."

Ginny was glad the other ladies in the room scoffed at that, so she wasn't the only one.

"He's very serious about his career." Audrey defended.

"Ee ad better be very serious about ee's wife. You deserve a nice relaxing 'oliday." Fleur pointed at her.

"George is serious about the shop too, but we still went on a honeymoon." Angelina backed up.

Ginny quite enjoyed herself with all of her sister-in-law's in the kitchen, bullying Audrey into telling Percy what was what when it came to the importance of her relaxation.

Molly came in after a while to see what was taking so long with the clearing up. Ginny saw her standing in the doorway for a minute, surveying all the women carrying on before joining them.

"Where did Arthur take you for a honeymoon?" Audrey asked her.

"Oh, we just stayed here for a week after our wedding. We didn't have the money to go anywhere." She blushed.

"That'd be when Bill happened, wasn't it?" Ginny cottoned on.

She didn't respond verbally, but the tightening of her lips with a slight uptick at the ends, and the blush that came to her face was answer enough. The girls are started giggling.

The door banged open. "You lot ever coming back out?" Ron hollered in.

Ginny made a face. "Do we have to?" She asked no one specifically. "They're so tense."

"Come on now." Fleur stood and took Ginny by the elbow. "Tell me more of your adventures."

"Okay." She acquiesced. "Well, have you ever tried skiing?"

()()()

The rest of the afternoon passed with Ginny spending more time with her sister-in-law's than with her brothers. The boys started up another game of Quidditch, which she opted to watch instead of join in on.

But by the end of the afternoon she had spent at least five minutes with each of her siblings. Mostly five awkward minutes, but it was still something.

Her mum and dad had requested a few lunches and dinners with her during the week she had left in Britain, and Percy had invited himself to the lunches.

Hermione said she was going to organize a hen night before Anush left back to Romania with Charlie on Wednesday.

All in all, by the time Ginny and Harry got home around five they felt that there was a bridge built there with all of her family members.

Her nieces had all taken to her quite strongly. Bubbles were always a win.

**AN- We aren't done yet. There's no way I could end it there!**


	23. Summit and Surveillance

**AN- I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Any Americans reading this. I am not trying to say that the lovely citizens of the States do not know how to throw a good party. Just needed a reason for these guys to be standing in a conference room with nothing more to entertain themselves than talking among each other (And maybe I'm playing off of the stereotype a little bit). I've personally traveled through more States than most of the people who actually live in the USA have, and had a wonderful time with all the attractions and the people. Including once sleeping right beside the Grand Canyon and waking up to enjoy the sun rise over it.**

**February 2004**

Jake hated it when the Summit met in the States.

MACUSA were a crazy bunch of cowboys that seemed to thing that evening entertainment began and ended with a bar. The American event planners clearly hadn't learned anything over the years.

All the Wizarding World Head Auror's met once every other year. He'd accompanied his first Head Auror on one of the trips to the states sixteen years ago, the last time they hosted.

Two years ago Greece had hosted. That had been a hell of a lot of fun. They'd warded Mount Lycabettus in the middle of Athens and had an old fashioned Gladiator challenge to see which country would come out on top. He'd had way more Ouzo than he should have for that one. Their wine had been excellent too, and the food! Jake had no idea what the food had been, but he'd gobbled it up.

He had an opportunity then to catch up with Christen Spellman, the Australian Head Auror at that one and asked if Ginny had been working out for him. It had been a huge relief to see how much Spellman appreciated the girl. She'd become part of his family and he felt a little obligated to look out for her. He'd taken it upon himself to take a peak into her family back in the UK. She never talked about them, except when there was a big life event back home and she was moping. He knew there was a big rift, but couldn't find the source. After discovering all they'd done in the war and their affiliation with Harry Potter, he was thoroughly confused.

They'd been on the same side of the war, so how bad could the problem have been?

Ginny Weasley was something that Head Auror Spellman and he had in common to discuss at the Greece summit, so they'd shared a few stories of her that she'd kept to herself, as was expected of her, and he'd learned of all the training initiatives she'd led for his Auror's.

One day she was sure to make the best Auror trainer there was.

He'd seen Spellman at this summit as well, but hadn't had a chance to chat with him yet. Ginny wasn't working for the Australians either. She'd moved on from South Africa too, which he'd been overwhelmingly relieved she'd made it out alive, so last he'd heard she was still taking it easy in Canada.

That was the note attached to Isabelle birthday present anyhow.

He surveyed the crowd for familiar faces.

"Jake Burke?" Came a voice to his left. He looked over at a man roughly his own age. His badge read G. Scrimgeour, U.K..

"Ah! Greyson, correct?" He held out his hand to the Head Auror of the U.K.

He nodded. "Not quite the event I was expecting." Scrimgeour indicated to the rest of the conference room.

"No, the MACUSA really just throws booze at us and hope we'll spill some intel." Jake replied with an easy smile.

"Fat chance of that." Scrimgeour shook his head and gestured his index finger at the hand holding his glass around the room. "First time I've attended one of these. Heard about the one in Greece though. Put my expectations high unfortunately. That one sounded like fun."

"It was." Head Auror Spellman came over and joined into the conversation. "The Peruvian one before that was a great time too. Nazca Lines Darkness Powder fire fight."

"You would say that. Your team won." Jake smiled at the Australian Head Auror and shook his hand in greeting.

"That we did. We really don't need a team for this though, do we?" He looked over to the regular Auror's that had accompanied their Heads and were scattered at the different tables, drinking away as the MACUSA one's challenged them to arm wrestling competitions it seemed.

"I just brought one Auror with me." Scrimgeour pointed to a table of mostly Asian Auror's of one nationality or another and one very pale and serious looking woman near 30.

"She looks like fun." Spellman deadpanned.

Greyson shook his head and managed to hold back a smile at that. "Thought about bringing Harry Potter, because he's known, but he hates that name recognition stuff."

Another Head Auror was walking by and stopped at their group at the name Harry Potter. "So, he did become and Auror then?" It was Matthews of Canada who smiled brightly. "Haven't heard much about him lately." He turned to Scrimgeour. "Aaron Matthews, Canada. Nice to meet you." He shook all of their hands. He paused at Jake. "Oh! You're Jake Burke! The Chameleon had great things to say about you! Had your picture on their desk."

"Really?" Jake felt himself swell with pride a bit. "Heard you got your hands on that one after South Africa. Wait." He paused, backtracking over what had just been said. "Did you say _heard_? Has our Chameleon moved on from Canada? I hadn't gotten word of that."

"Bloody yanks." Spellman commented quietly so only the three men in the conversation with him could hear. "Tried to get that one back, but they had a more pressing issue apparently, and I was just hoping to have that one back on my team." He grumbled a bit. "I heard from Van Der Mullen of South Africa how much more training I could have gotten my team after the war."

"No kidding!" Matthews picked up. "The things my team are now trained to do! Just because the Chameleon had gotten bored! Closed an unsolved case for us too."

Jake took a look at the confusion on Greyson Scrimgeour's face and intrigue, and had an idea. "The Chameleon is probably one of the best Auror's we've ever dealt with." He leaned over and explained while Matthews and Spellman traded some closed case stories. "Just has a knack for finding weaknesses in Auror teams and setting about correcting them. First case worked in New Zealand and had that one training all of my Auror's about how to effectively and non-magically get intel from Muggles."

He gestured over to Spellman. "That one snagged the Chameleon away from me for an undercover op that lead to the biggest single handed bust ever for Australia. Basically got all of the underground criminals wrapped up in a nice bow. Then trained up his guys too on various skills."

Jake figured if he could get Scrimgeour to bite, maybe he'd invite Ginny back to the U.K. and she could deal with some of her past demons. He felt a little underhanded about it, but if it worked, then ultimately it would be Ginny that would say 'yes' or 'no'. He didn't think it would work if Scrimgeour had any idea who the Chameleon was though.

Luckily he'd known her contracts with Australia, South Africa and Canada had a compulsion charm tied to them that prevented them from being able to divulge who she was. Age, gender, race. None of it. They would simply refer to her as the Chameleon to anyone not on their own team.

"Managed to get that one for a week between their South Africa and Canada stint. Made sure any Auror's that missed the training session were taught by the others. Now it seems the Chameleon's taught even more to the Canadian's there. What did he just say about an engorged Ashwinder?" Jake barely overheard Matthews mention sinkholes opening up in his major cities.

He was lying about Ginny returning to train his guys, but she had sent him a letter with some suggestions for training then. So that was close enough to the truth.

"But who is the Chameleon?" Scrimgeour asked Jake.

"Can't say." Spellman responded, catching that part.

"You don't know?" He was confused.

The three men laughed. "No. We know." Matthews replied. "We just literally can't say. Compulsion Charm."

Scrimgeours eyes went wide. "Even Harry Potter doesn't have a Compulsion charm on his identity!"

Matthews gave a one armed shrug. "His main enemy and the little Death Eaters are all gone now. The Chameleon has some serious enemies that would still love to get their hands on 'em." He gestured to Spellman. "Like your Ringmaster's clients there."

Spellman sucked in a breath. "Oh yes. That one is out for blood. More than blood."

Jake had heard bow Hunter Bastien was still obsessed with getting revenge on Ginny. He wasn't dead, just incarcerated. And they didn't have proof of him doing a crime worthy of the Dementors Kiss, so he would be rotting in prison for a long time, and as they'd all seen from the Azkaban break-out, the system wasn't infallible.

"May I join you?" A tall dark man came over. He was looking at Jake. "I discovered you where here. Wanted to introduce myself."

Jake did a double take on the name. "Emmerson!" He shouted and immediately checked himself. Perhaps he'd had more to drink than he thought.

"You have heard of me." Emmerson gave a nod and held out his hand.

Jake put down his drink. "Forgive me, but I didn't think I'd ever get the chance." He went to the man and gave him a stiff hug. "Thank you for saving their life." He whispered and pulled back. "Promise I won't do that again." He said for the group to hear, and collected his drink. "Great timing. I don't know if you all know, but Emmerson here was actually the Chameleon's partner in South Africa."

There was a consensus of interested noises from the group. Emmerson removed all sign of discomfort from Jake's embrace. "Yes. We fought very well together. Learned a great many things from each other and saved many lives."

"We were just talking about how the American's have the Chameleon now." Spellman said. "Apparently there was some under cover job that their own team requested assistance with."

Jake was a little surprised at his tone. Sure, he'd love to have Ginny back in New Zealand too, but he didn't get that disappointed over it. Maybe Australia just had more jobs that required a hard-headed ginger Brit than he did. He couldn't help but snort. "You'll just have to be more convincing next time. Add some more incentives. Hell, when I had the Chameleon for only a week before Canada there, the only reason I convinced them to do training on their 'holiday' was by playing up how pathetic the Auror's had gotten and giving them access to my boat."

"As I understand it, your Auror's could use such help." Emmerson said to Scrimgeour.

He looked offended, then resigned at the suggestion. "They may be getting a little lazy. I was thinking about making it a requirement to go through Auror training every five years."

"How often do you upgrade the training program?" Jake asked him.

He looked confused. Emmerson and the other two head Auror's were looking to Scrimgeour expecting an answer too. "Well. We added a little bit after the war. About how Voldemort came to power and took over the Ministry." He offered.

"But, did they learn any new tricks from that?" Matthews asked.

Scrimgeour floundered over what he could say to make his team sound prepared and skilled. "Just not to make the same mistakes." He stated lamely.

Emmerson shook his head. "Perhaps a visit from the Chameleon would do your country some good."

Jake was happy that he had been the one to say it. His deep voice and accent made it sound like he would have been a fool not to. If Jake said it, it might sound like a nonchalant suggestion.

"Bet the Chameleon would do an excellent job of embarrassing your guys too." Matthews laughed as though remembering something.

"Crickey, yeah. Embarrassed the pants off of my guys until they listened and learned, that's for sure." Spellman agreed.

Jake was quite satisfied with how Scrimgeour looked to be taking that all to heart. Hopefully he'd hear she was in the U.K. next.

()()()()()()()()

**London **

**August 2004**

Choosing to stay in a hostel in downtown London probably wasn't the best call she'd ever made.

Four bunk beds to a room, and it was full of 18 to 25 year-old's. But, as exhausted as she was she couldn't do much about changing up her accommodation now, so she had tucked her backpack under her bed on the lower bunk and tossed a sweater over her head to grab a few hours of shut eye when she'd arrived.

Ginny'd slept in some crappy situations in her life, but this one was most reminiscent of her circus life. Except the rooms were co-ed and she couldn't exactly brew something in the corner of the room.

This was a Muggle hostel as well. The St. Christopher's Inn in central London. It was close enough to Diagon Alley and easy to get to from the airport, which was how she'd arrived from New York.

As much as possible she wanted to stay in Muggle London.

But staying in this hostel for the full month that she intended to be here was not going to work.

Ginny was startled awake by the bed rattling and jerked up to a semi-sitting position, hampered by the upper bunk above her. Her sweater slid down to her torso and she turned her head towards the figure standing right beside her.

"Ah. I am to sleep on top of you." Came the deep broken English of a man beside her.

She wiped the sleep out of her eyes. "What time is it?" She'd fallen into a deep sleep around 2 pm London time. Basically as soon as she was allowed access to her bunk.

"Eet is close to 9." He replied. "Already dark outside."

Ginny coughed and cleared her throat. There were sounds of cars zipping back and forth through the one window in the room, which was open and letting in all the smog from the city. She tumbled out of the bed and stretched.

"You travel alone?" The, maybe Spanish, guy asked her.

"Yeah. Visiting family." She lied. Sort of.

"Ah. You from here. Maybe you show me around tomorrow?" He asked hopefully.

She blinked at him a few times, trying to gauge if he was hitting on her, or just being friendly.

"I'm not staying here long." She told him, still a little confused from sleep. She was going to need to start operating on a funky sleep schedule if she was going to do her stake out's to get the Auror's routines down. But the first little while in a new country, more specifically a new time zone made her need to catch more sleep than usual. It also made her need Macaroni and Cheese at 3 a.m. for some reason.

He looked a little put out.

"I'm sure there are plenty of people around here you can tag along with." She smiled softly at him. He looked to be around her age, and most likely traveling alone and open to adventures. She stretched one more time and grabbed her backpack to head to the showers.

Seven hours of sleep was enough for now. The mac and cheese probably wasn't going to be a middle of the night option though.

()()

After her shower she felt a little more human and made her way down to the pub on the main floor.

It was packed, but she managed to get there just before the kitchen closed and ordered up a burger and a soft drink while she sat at the bar stool.

She looked around and smiled to herself at the different groups of people in here. It reminded her of working at the bar in New Zealand. Where there had been enough young adults going through the place to figure out you could categorize the different types of travelers.

There were the one's that needed the travel companions, and had aspirations of making new friends on the way, but didn't know how to do that and kept to themselves. There was the single traveler that was completely content getting hammered every night and making the best of friends with strangers, for a few hours. And there was the true adventure traveler that regaled stories of their previous adventures, and what they aspired to do while they were here.

After her meal she locked up her backpack in the lockers provided and made her way towards Diagon Alley.

As she walked she went over her to-do list in her head. She'd have to purchase some Polyjuice Potion. There was no time to brew any before she left the States, and hadn't known then to snag some that she'd made for Mikhai Lennox.

As of yet her only plan was to spend the next two weeks finding ways to embarrass the crap out of some of the Aurors to make them take her seriously. How she was going to do that she'd be making up along the way.

First step was to stake out the Leaky Cauldron, and that was going to take all night.

She walked up and down the half mile stretch on the Muggle side of the entrance. There were a few pubs, some corner stores, what looked to be a whore house, and some off-license lottery places. Those were the only businesses that were open. There were some storefronts peddling various wares that were closed at this hour.

Head Auror Scrimgeour hadn't given her a list of his Auror's or Junior Auror's, but she knew a few of them from the Daily Prophet, and conversation around the house when she was growing up.

As she surveyed the pub from her perch on the roof of the building across the street she wondered if she could get through the pub to Diagon Alley with out being recognized. The Auror uniform wasn't hard to miss, and she noticed more than one of them going in and out of the Leaky Cauldron.

She was wearing jeans, sneakers and a dark hoodie. Incognito outfit for the Muggle world, but she'd stand out like a sore thumb in that pub, and would have to go through there to get to Knockturn Alley which would be the only place with an open apothecary.

Ginny chewed her lip a moment, weighing the pro's and con's of whether she should transfigure her outfit and try to sneak through when three men came out of the pub and headed up the street. One of them was wearing an Auror uniform. His mate hit him on the shoulder and the guy looked around before transfiguring his robes to something less descript.

She followed them with her eyes until they were a ways away, then Apparated herself down to an alley and trailed them until they went into the whore house.

She grinned wildly as that gave her her first idea. Auror's visiting a Muggle whore house was good ammunition. If she could get proof of it, that would be even better.

Finding her way around to the back of the building she dissillusioned herself and got in through the back door.

The hallway was empty, but the doors along the hallway were open. The security room they had was the first door on her right.

Ginny fought not to laugh when she saw all of the monitors. There were over eight of them showing bedrooms, and two showing some kind of bar room with a few guys milling around having a drink.

The security guard seemed to be enjoying himself watching the monitors. He had a bag of popcorn in front of him. Didn't look like he was turned on by what he was seeing though. Must have been doing the job a while to get desensitized to that stuff.

Even she found herself intrigued by what was going on in some of the bedrooms. There were quite a few guys tied up on the beds, and one that had a girl getting taken from behind. It was pretty hot stuff, though the longer she stood there surveying the monitors, the odder she found it that these guys seemed to have to work pretty hard to earn their finish, even with the girls being all trussed and slutted up in their lingerie.

With a silent sigh she quickly calculated how long ago it had been since she'd been with someone. Then found her answer depressing and put her focus back into her task.

Moving on down the corridor there was another open room on the left with lockers and a rack of racy lingerie and outfits. No one in there.

The bar room further down had a small window in it, and she could see everyone standing around awkwardly, just waiting for their turn. It was like a brothel from some cowboy movie.

There was even a man working the bar.

It was a new millenium, there was a much better way to run a brothel to make the business more effective. She shook her head, then a light bulb came on in her mind and she giggled to herself.

Those seduction classes weren't supposed to be meant for this, but it could be very fun.

She left the way she came in and waited across the street until the three men she'd identified leaving the Leaky Cauldron left.

Which took two hours.

After they left she transfigured her outfit into something a little more sexy and went in.

There was a desk immediately as she entered with a pretty girl behind Plexiglas. She looked surprised to see Ginny there.

"Hi." Ginny smiled at her. "Do you know if the manager or owner is in?" She wasn't trying to put up any kind of front with her persona. She'd been thought to be prostituting herself all the way through school, apparently she just acted the way an easy girl would naturally. This was the only time she'd hoped to actually give off that impression though.

"Umm.." The girl hesitated, giving her a looking over. "Yeah. Let me give him a call." She picked up the phone and dialed a number while Ginny looked around the entry way.

It was all white, and non-descript.

"You can go on through. He'll meet you in the bar room." She told her.

"Cool. Thanks." She went through the door, which led to another sound-proofed door. After that was the bar room.

There were still a few John's there. Only two, seated at the bar. She went up and took a seat a few bar stools down from them. They raised their eyebrows in intrigue at her.

The bartender came over. "Don't get too many girls in here." He told her. "What can I get you?"

"Just waiting for the owner or manager actually. But I'll take a water if you're offering."

He surveyed her carefully before he smiled at her and filled a pint glass with water from his soda gun.

She looked around the room a little more thoroughly from her seat. Some lower lighting, soft stripper music playing and a few girls spread around would be such an easy change.

Leaning back on her stool with her elbows on the rail of the bar she pushed her chest to stick out a bit for the benefit of the men down a few stools that were still looking at her.

Ginny gave them the most seductive eyes she could pull off and made sure to play with her straw a bit before taking a drink. Wiping the condensation off of the glass by stroking it up and down.

The two men seemed quite captivated with her antics before one by one they were led into a room by a scarcely dressed woman.

There wasn't anyone that came in after Ginny had. It was getting on two in the morning. They'd probably get another influx after bar close. She turned back to the bartender who was looking quite amused by her, but saying nothing.

She was about to ask him if he could go and check if the manager was planning on coming out when a pretty brunette came out of one of the back rooms and sauntered over to her, giving her a good looking up and down. There was a twinkle of delight in her eye that Ginny saw as she got closer.

"Hi there." The brunette purred, coming to stand directly in front of her.

Ginny couldn't help seeing some humor in this, but tried not to let it show on her face. "Hi."

"Tell me." She gave her a good looking over and licked her lips. "Do you like to 69?" She asked in a low and throaty voice.

Ginny leaned forward on her stool and readjusted the strap on the girls outfit that had slid down her shoulder. "I prefer to 68 actually." She replied saucily and loud enough for the bartender to catch.

The brunette paused. Ginny could see the bartender out of the corner of her eye. He was listening, but trying not to look like it. "What's 68?" She blinked.

Ginny leaned back against the bar again, knocking off her seduction routine and picking up her water. "When he goes down on you and you owe him one." She took a sip of her water.

That got both the bartender and the brunette laughing.

"So you aren't here for a servicing?" The brunette smiled and knocked of her persona as well.

Ginny shook her head. "No." She smiled back. "Just here with a business proposition for the owner."

She blinked at Ginny and looked her over again, with an appreciative look on her face.

"Not as a working girl." Ginny told her. "More as a... fluffer." She landed on, and gestured around the room.

The girl and the bartender looked around. "What's wrong with this?" The bartender asked. "Guys pay to come in. Pay for a drink, then head off to one of the rooms for ten minutes to a half hour, then leave. Bip, bam, boom."

"That's a pretty antiquated way of doing things." She looked at him skeptically. "I'm willing to bet I could get this place working much faster, with more repeat customers."

"Like what?" The bartender asked her.

"That's for he, or she, and I to discuss." Ginny told him.

"This is the owner." The brunette pointed to him.

"Well then." Ginny held out her hand. "My name is Ginny."

He took her hand. "Calvin. Now what are you suggesting?"

"I'm not going to just give away my idea's." She mock scolded. "How about I do up a business proposal for you. If you it works, I get 500 quid?"

The two of them looked surprised.

"And if it doesn't work?" The brunette asked.

"Then you'll have some minor updates around here and I walk away."

Calvin eyed her skeptically, but looked interested enough.

"Got a pen and paper and we can write out a deal?" Ginny asked boldly.

He chewed the inside of his cheek a moment. "Bridgette, can you man the bar a minute?" He asked the brunette.

"Sure." She went around and poured herself a Malibu and pineapple while he disappeared behind the door that led to the locker room and security room. "So Ginny." She took a sip. "You from around here?"

"No." She shook her head. "Just came into London yesterday. Only here for a month. Staying at the St. Christopher's hostel down the way."

"For a month?!" She looked horrified. "At a hostel." She shivered.

Ginny shrugged. "I'm hoping not, but there aren't many short term leases, or people willing to rent out a room for only a month."

Bridgette peered at her carefully with a furrowed brow. She took another sip of her drink. "Only a month?"

Ginny paused, her eyebrows raising slowly. "Yeah. Just a month. I need to be back in the UK for that long so I can get another travel visa and maintain my citizenship."

Bridgette was quiet for another moment, sipping her drink. "I have a spare room. Have someone lined up for September, but until then..."

Ginny was surprised to say the least."Really? But you don't even know me."

"Do you care what I do for a living?" Bridgette narrowed her eyes.

Ginny shrugged. "There are less reputable jobs one could have. If you were a lawyer for example." she joked.

Bridgette laughed once. "Well, that is the reason the last flatmate left. She found out and was disgusted." Her expression changed with the memory.

"I certainly don't care. You seem like a nice enough person." Ginny told her. "I'd love to have a room to myself for the next month. Right now I'm sharing with seven other people."

"Well then. If you want to stick around, I'm done in the next four-ish hours and can show you the place." She paused. "300 pounds for the month?"

"Sounds fair. I'm going to be doing a ton of under the counter jobs for the month, so I'll barely be there during the day."

"And I'll barely be there at night." She held up her glass to cheers.

They clinked glasses and each took a drink. Then Calvin came back into the room with a pen and paper.

"Bridgette, maybe you can go and change your sheets or something?" He suggested with a superior tone.

"Sir, yes sir." She saluted and went back around the counter and back to her room.

"I'll make sure to be back around six." Ginny told her.

"Perfect for me!" Bridgette called over her shoulder.

()()()

Calvin was quite intrigued by Ginny's suggested changes and was willing to make a few changes to the bar area; installing lower lighting and a stripper pole were the only things that would cost him anything, and not a lot. She told him she'd work an entire night in the bar area in two weeks and they shook on it.  
Ginny met up with Bridgette and met her girlfriend Chantal, the three of them went back to Bridgette's place and Ginny scrounged through the kitchen to whip up some food as a 'thank you'.

She pocketed the key to the place and left the girls to get some shut eye while she went back to stake out the movement outside the Leaky Cauldron more.

It took two days to get her hands on some Polyjuice potion in Knockturn Alley, and four days to figure out that one of the Aurors, Nymphadora Lupin nee Tonks, went for a run with her dog in the morning through Hyde park on days that she worked.

Head Auror Scrimgeour enjoyed breakfast with his wife at the same little cafe a few days a week, but one of those days was always on Monday mornings.

On the second Monday she stuck around in Diagon Alley disillusioned and simply stood across the street from the Weasley Wizard Weezes staring through their storefront. The twins were doing so well for themselves, and it looked like they were having a blast doing it too.

All day long little explosions were going off inside the shop. Kids were running back and forth, and up and down the stairs having a marvelous time. It looked like such fun.

Fleur Weasley stopped in with her daughters and Ginny's heart clenched at the sight of them. These were Bills kids. And they were freaking adorable with their strawberry blonde hair and cute little dresses.

Through out her surveillance she noted that there weren't any Auror's doing patrols down the alley. It was full of kids and their parents, but there were bound to be crooks and Visigoths too, yet there were no peace keepers.

The country had been at peace for several years now, but that didn't mean that every witch or wizard out there was looking to keep the peace.

As another explosion went off inside WWW she noted how the shops on either side of the store had clerks and customers that didn't so much as flinch, let alone cover their ears. So the twins must have had wards and charms in place to make their neighbors happy.

Ginny smiled sinister. Those would be easy enough to take down. If she timed everything right, and maybe used a few compulsion charms, then she could do the most damage in terms of embarrassing the Auror team in one 24 hour period.

She took some of the Polyjuice potion and decided it was time to go into the Ministry itself to figure out how easy it would be to actually get into Auror Headquarters.

She'd taken the hair for her potion off of someone she'd gotten in an altercation with at the pub the other night with Bridgette and Chantal. The woman had a problem with the fact that her friends were quite in love with each other, and apparently that was 'disgusting'. So Ginny called the woman disgusting, and things escalated from there.

All said and done she felt no remorse about taking on this woman's identity to scope out the inside of the Ministry of Magic.

By the time she'd let her second dose of the potion wear off, she'd seen enough.

She got past the security guard at the entrance no problem by simply not paying him any mind. Then took the lift to the DMLE floor and went straight into the change rooms for the Auror's personal gymnasium.

Finding that had actually been an accident. She'd needed to use the loo and there was a sign for the Ladies on the door.

There was no lock or anything, and the lockers were right there. Only half of them actually being used, the other half had items just left on or under the benches. Essentially welcoming someone to attempt to steal them.

She disillusioned herself before leaving the locker room and slipped into the Auror offices easily. Wandering between the cubicles and stepping out of the way if anyone should walk her way. And taking her time to look at the names on the cubicles. Some she recognized, some she didn't. And some that stopped her in her tracks.

Like Draco Malfoy, and Blaise Zabini.

She also spent a little too much time staring at the Harry Potter name plate, which was beside the Ronald Weasley name plate. Side by side, like they had been since they were eleven.

Ron's desk had a picture of Hermione and one of the whole family. Harry's had a small poster for the Holyhead Harpies, and one of he, Ron and Hermione that looked like it was taken at their wedding. Nothing to indicate he had a girlfriend she noticed. That intrigued her more than it should have, and she couldn't help but notice how good he looked in the photo.

She stepped away from their desks and chose to stand off to the side by there meeting room where she could look out over the entire bull pen.

Everyone was coming and going easily, not paying attention to their surroundings. She'd been the same way. Expecting that her work space would be safe, and letting her guard down.

Quite the easy target for pranking.

**AN- The story is still not done ;)**


	24. The After

**Sirenstron0617- This one's for you**

**The After- Important Moments**

**December 2004**

The toilet seat actually felt nice and cool on her forehead. It was a small bit of relief in this moment when her whole body seemed to be rebelling against her.

The last time she'd thrown up had been after she'd had a girls night with all of her brothers wives before she and Harry had moved to New Zealand. She hadn't anticipated that hang over potions would have been required after that get together. The few drinks coupled with her international Portkey queasiness hadn't done her body any favors. The lunch she'd had with Bill and Charlie the next day hadn't been a good idea. Not because of the company, but because of the seafood restaurant so soon after her hang over had nearly gone. She'd almost lost her stomach contents again when she'd made it through to the American office.

Ginny was tired, and her stomach was turning, and she couldn't stop shaking from being cold, despite the sweat on her forehead.

Once more she retched into the bowl and said a silent thank you to the forces that had reminded her to actually clean the bathroom on the morning before she and Harry headed out for their fancy dinner.

Her eyes were closed, but she could hear Harry walking into the bathroom, and there was a tinkling noise. Like he was going through her bowl of miscellaneous crap; hair ties, bobby pins, tweezers and the like. Then gently her hair was pulled up off of her shoulders and clumsily tied back.

She still didn't want to take her head off the cool porcelain.

The tap ran and a moment after it shut off there was a cool cloth placed on the back of her neck. She let out a long and grateful moan.

"Do you want me to make you a hang-over potion?" He whispered.

She rocked her head side to side. He didn't know her potion recipe and couldn't stomach the thought of trying to down the regular potion right now.

She threw up one more time.

"I'm not hung over." Ginny groaned. "I didn't even drink last night."

Harry didn't say anything more, but she heard him shifting around and managed to lift her head enough to see him sitting back against the side of their tub. He looked dazed and lost in thought.

For now, it seemed like her stomach was done rebelling against her.

She took the cloth from the back of her neck and wiped her face with it, debating whether trying to brush her teeth was a good idea. But sticking anything in her mouth right then didn't seem appealing.

Leaning back against the cupboards opposite him she tried to reach out mentally to every part of her body and survey what was going on with each organ. Hoping that this had been the worst of it and she could go back to bed.

Opening her eyes again Harry was staring at her, well, at her stomach. With a small look of panic on his face.

"What?" She asked.

"You. Well. You're..." He tripped over his words.

She stared at him, not understanding why he was freaking out. "What?"

"Preg-" He started, then just stopped himself and blinked a few times.

"Harry." She deadpanned. "I'm not pregnant. I have food poisoning."

He looked back up to meet her eyes and his gradually lost their cloudiness and focused on her. "Food poisoning?" His expression was a mixture of relief and disappointment.

"Yes. Food poisoning. Pretty sure it was from the roasted pig." She closed her eyes again as a wave of nausea came over her. She took a deep breath and it subsided slowly.

"Oh." He sounded disappointed now.

She pried her eyes open again and raised her eyebrows at him. He shifted slightly and color came to his cheeks. "It's a little soon for that, don't you think?" She asked.

"I. Well." He hesitated. "Yes, it is a little soon for that. But."

Her eyebrows went up even further. There was a 'but' to that? "We've never talked about wanting kids." She supplied.

His expression slowly turned sad. "You don't ever want them?"

"I didn't say that." She shook her head sleepily. " There were a lot of things that I never thought I'd see in my future, you know. Like falling hard for some amazing guy and having him fall for me too." She managed to tease. "Kids were something I hadn't seen either. I would just want to feel settled in before kids becomes a serious option. We've only been here for three months. I wouldn't call that settled."

A sparkle came to his eyes. "You're open to the idea then? Down the road."

A sudden image of him playing with a dark messy haired baby boy popped into her head. Harry sitting on the couch and making faces at the baby before feeding him a bottle. She felt her dopey smile come to her face. "That would be nice." She sighed. Then had a moment of panic. "But only like, one or two." She said quickly. "I'm not interested in any more than that."

He moved over to sit beside her and kissed her cheek. "One or two sounds amazing." He clasped her hand in his. "Eventually."

She nodded. "Eventu-" And she launched herself back at the toilet.

**May 2005**

The ice was crunching under his feet. With each footfall he needed to shift his boot slightly to make sure it wouldn't slip out from underneath him.

"Doing okay?" Ginny asked smiling brightly at him. This was her fifth time doing the climb up the Franz Joseph Glacier and had the proper footwear. He had normal boots on, a right of passage she said. Had to learn the hard way about proper climbing equipment.

"I'm managing." Harry chuckled. There was cool air coming off the glacier, but the sun was shining and the light sweater he was wearing was enough to keep him comfortable.

"Look over there." She pointed behind them and up the hill to the left.

"What am I looking at?" He squinted.

"See the staircase? Coming down from the trees on the top of the crest?"

Sure enough, there were a set of stairs that ended at a sheer drop. He could barely make it out from where they were, half way up the glacier. Well, he hoped they were at least at the half way point by now. He still couldn't see where the helicopter that the Muggles took to the top was landing, but there was a craggy ice cliff that they had yet to climb obstructing the view.

"Are they building a staircase down to the glacier?" He asked her.

Ginny shook her head. "No. That used to be an access point to walk onto the glacier."

He looked back and forth between the bottom of the stairs to the point at which the glacier actually lay.

"That's-"

"That's how much the glacier has melted since the stairs were built."

"When did they build them?" They still looked in good condition from his point of view.

She shrugged. "Ten or twenty years ago."

"That's a lot of ice melt." She hummed in response and Harry slipped slightly. Ginny reached over and helped steady him. "You sure I can't add those grippy things to my boots? We would probably get to the top in half the time." He asked hopefully.

"We would definitely get there in half the time. But I want you to suffer just a little." She teased, giving him an evil and saucy look.

They'd been living in New Zealand now for eight months. The first month she'd taken him all over the islands, they visited winery's, went surfing, checked out Lake Taupo and the Hot Springs. She had introduced him to all her friends, even the Muggle one's too and it had all been fantastic.

They were living in a rented house a block from the beach in Dunedin. On Sundays they would go for a jog to Jake's place for a lunch get together, always breaking out into a race once they got to his street, which was basically straight uphill.

Jake had given Ginny her job back on his Auror team, and had been eager to get her back. He had welcomed Harry as well. It was a walk in the park job, but right now they were just working for something to do in between their little adventures.

And they'd had so many adventures.

Living together hadn't been something he'd worried about until after they'd actually done it. He was concerned that their idiosyncrasies would get on each others last nerves and ruin what they had going. They did have little grumbles, like when she would leave her dirty clothes on the floor, or when he would take off his shoes by the door and she'd angrily kick them out of the way, but he couldn't imagine a better fit for him.

Her parents had come out at the start of the new year for a week. It had been slightly awkward watching Ginny and her mother trying to make polite conversation, she and her dad had been more relaxed and talked about Muggle things mostly. They had taken them on a tour of the north Island and everyone had left in one piece. It was progress.

Ron and Hermione had come for a visit two months later, with the announcement that they were expecting, and that visit had been more laid back.

Harry stood there reflecting on everything that had happened between them in the only nine months that they had been together, and he had never been happier in his life. He had a family, he had great friends, and he had this amazing girl who he loved, and loved him back. Showing it through touches, looks and gestures.

"Will you marry me?" He asked her suddenly.

She'd been holding onto his elbow and figuring out what path they would take to make it up to the top. Her head snapped towards him. "What?" She blinked.

"Uh.. I didn't mean for that to slip out like that." He was starting to feel sheepish. That wasn't really something one blurted out, least of all on a mountaineering expedition, which this felt like to him.

"Harry?" A bewildered expression came over her face slowly at the panic that must be showing in his own expression.

"I-" He swallowed his tongue. He felt a ball form in his stomach. Harry took an ill footed step. He hadn't even realized how tense he'd gotten. "Oh!" He'd relaxed too much and slipped, bringing her down with him. He bashed his elbow on hard packed snow, but they were on a flat enough area that they didn't slide down at all.

She was still giving him the same expression as before they fell. Like she was trying to figure out if she'd heard him correctly.

He managed to get up onto his knees, as did she. "Will you marry me?" He asked again, with the proper determination this time.

"That's not funny." She told him wide eyed and shook her head once.

"I should bloody hope not!" He blurted out.

She blinked at him a few times. "Are you actually asking me?"

"Yes." He nodded immediately.

"But. Did you actually think about this?" She sputtered.

"I don't have a ring, if that's what you mean. But I want to be with you. Forever. I want to have kids with you, and have you keep torturing me for your own amusement." He gestured to the ice beneath them and they both smiled. "You make me so happy Ginny. I love you, and I think we should get married."  
She opened and closed her mouth a few times. Harry felt like time had slowed right down. Her eyes were wide with surprise.

"Yes." She said so softly he wasn't sure he heard it.

"Yes?"

"Yes." She said louder.

"You're sure." He grinned.

Her face glowed then and she grabbed him by the front of his jumper and pulled him to her, kissing him firmly on the lips. "Yes. I'll marry you. I'm sure."

They were both giddy now. "You'll wear a white dress and change your name to Potter. The whole nine?" He asked excitedly. Her breath hitched and he saw tears in her eyes. "Are you crying?" He asked happily. She never cried. He knew from the smile on her face that they were tears of joy threatening to break free from her eyes.

"No, my eyes are just sweating." She flushed and giggled.

That made Harry grin even wider. "I'd pick you up and spin you around right now if I didn't think it would send us both flying."

"Then you can do it once we get back home."

"Want to Apparate back there now?" He asked hopefully.

"No. Don't think that proposing to me means you can get out of climbing the rest of the way to the top." She tugged on his collar and gave him a kiss then turned around to start climbing the glacier again, with a skip in her step that would have caused him to fall over.

"Damn." Harry grinned.

**December 2005**

"You're sure about this?" Jake asked, for the first time that day. The hundredth time over all.

"Positive." Ginny confirmed, though still wringing her hands a bit.

"No fru fru?"

"Isn't this dress enough fru fru?" She asked with wide eyes and indicated to the white beach dress she had on. It had a lace bodice and draped down to her feet to drag just along the ground with a slit up one side to her mid-thigh.

"My girls wear more fru fru dresses to get pizza." he eyed it skeptically.

"Well then throw a glamour on it or something!" She said with a hint of anger and panic. If he thought her dress was too basic, then what if Harry would think that too.

"Whoa, calm down. I was kidding." He put his hands up.

She hit him with her bouquet of lilies. "Does now seem like a good time to joke around with me?"

She and Harry had decided on a simple wedding on the beach near their house. They had had long discussions about whether to inform family, but every time she thought about her whole family descending on them it gave her a headache. Harry seemed completely understanding, but they were his family too, and he'd always had a good relationship with them. He was being a saint to agree to have a small ceremony with just the two of them with two witnesses and an officiant. The two witnesses turned into three now that little Rose was born. Hermione and Ron had come out to visit for Christmas and learned about the wedding when they arrived, Jake was officiating. Her dress was simple, Harry's slacks and button up were simple as well.

They were heading back to England with Ron and Hermione in a few days, then they would let the family know and maybe throw a small reception type event together. But today it was about just the two of them.

"How is it going?" Hermione ducked her head into Ginny and Harry's bedroom to see how things were coming along.

"She has no sense of humor today. Seems about right for a bride." Jake shrugged.

Hermione's eyebrows went up in thinly veiled humor. "Anything I can help with?"

"He says my dress is too boring and I look ugly." Ginny moped before turning to him with a scowl.

"Right." Hermione said slowly before turning to Jake. "And what did you actually say?"

"I just asked if she was sure about not having any fru fru crap." He held his hands up while Ginny just glared at him.

"Maybe you should just head down to the beach with the boys. I'll see what I can do." She waved him out the door and turned to Ginny, regarding the dress. "Well your hair and make-up are perfect, but do you want me to add some little embellishments to your dress?"

"Urgh." Ginny looked down at what she'd thought was the perfect dress. "I don't know. I wanted this, simple and straight forward. A white dress that is kind of form fitting. It didn't cost a fortune, so I won't care about Harry ripping it off me at the end of the night."

"You know he'll love it. But." She grabbed her wand. "Maybe I could just make it shimmer a bit more? Brighten up the color so it matches your flowers?"

"Maybe just a bit?" Ginny said with concern and a hint of panic.

Hermione fought back a laugh and added a subtle glamour to make the dress stand out a bit more.

"There."

Ginny turned to the full-length mirror. "Okay. Yes, this looks better." She patted down invisible wrinkles then sighed in annoyance at herself. "I really didn't think I'd be freaking out. I am not the high-strung bride type."

"I didn't think I was either." Hermione chuckled. "But the day before I married Ron I kept going over and over every single little detail, from seating charts to placement of flowers. Everything." She took a seat on the end of the bed. "And the only parts I really remember from that day are seeing Ron at the end of the aisle and sitting down on the couch once it was all over."

Ginny gave her a sad smile. She would have liked to have been at any one of her siblings' large weddings to see the chaos unfold. She turned back to the mirror to check that she was as done up as she was going to get. Her hair was down and pinned to the side with 50's style curls. Her skin had layers of unidentified make-up on it so she would look flawless in the small number of photos they had planned to take. She'd opted for a darker shade of lipstick than she'd normally go for and had lash extensions, but she still looked like herself.

"Just think of Harry." Hermione told her.

"Harry." Ginny said to herself in the mirror and smiled. That did help calm her down. "Okay. Let's do this." She turned to her Matron of Honor and handed her the smaller bouquet.

They walked down to the beach and saw their men standing down by the water. There were a few other people on this part of the beach. Some kids were building sand castles or throwing a volleyball around, others were enjoying the water or laying on a towel, but they had a good radius just to themselves. The three men turned to face them as they approached. Harry looked like his face was going to split in half from his grin. Jake wasn't too far behind him in that regard.

Ron on the other hand was staring at his wife and trying to get Rose to stop attempting to put her fist in his mouth.

There was no aisle, and no other people invited specifically to watch.

Ginny really only did have eyes for Harry then, the rest of the world just faded away as she walked directly up to him and gave him a kiss.

"Hey, hey. Wait until I marry you at least." Jake chuckled.

**April 2007**

The cry had awoken her instantly, but she still lay there for a moment, just hoping the cries would settle down slightly then disappear altogether.

Her sleep had been so deep that she hadn't been dreaming at all and she needed a few seconds to come out of her rem state.

"I'll get it." Came Harry's gravelly voice from beside her on the bed.

"No." She groaned. "I'll get it, you go back to sleep."

"Ginny." He gave a half-hearted protest. "You can go back to sleep. I'll get this one."

"Every time 'you get this one' I just wind up laying here listening and waiting for the point that you give up and bring him in for me to take care of it." She grumbled, pulling the sheets back from her bed.

That wasn't fair to him. She knew he was trying to help with their newborn as much as he could. But it was rather frustrating trying to stand back and let him attempt figuring out how to properly give their son a bath or comfort him when he cried. It was just so much faster for her to sit down with the baby and a nursing pillow and shove a boob in his mouth. She wasn't in the state of mind to apologize for saying it that way right now though.

James had been a bit of a surprise for the newlyweds to find out about. He was only three months old right now, and she was on maternity leave.

Harry had to get up and go into work five times a week still, so he needed the regular sleeping patterns more than she, who could take a nap any time James did.

Could and would are two different things though. There was so much she could accomplish when James was asleep during the day that she would opt to do instead of sleeping though.

She padded into the nursery and picked up their little boy, cooing and patting his back as he curled into her warmth, settling down slightly. She sat down in the rocking chair and gave herself yet another silent reminder that they needed to get some padding or something for the uncomfortable chair. Grabbing the nursing pillow she'd tucked beside it she wrapped it around her waist and lowered one side of her nightgown to feed the baby, then let her head fall back against the back rest as he latched on and suckled.

Everything she'd done as a mother had felt so natural and easy. From giving him baths, breast feeding, clipping his tiny little finger and toe nails, and changing his diapers. She'd watched the assistant Healer do the bath and diaper changing once, and just got it.

Harry was still a little clumsy with it. Obviously, he couldn't do the breast-feeding bit, but watching him try to figure out holding a baby and a bottle was painful until they settled into the task.

Clipping finger and toe nails he was determined not to go anywhere near, but baths he would do, though he was completely paranoid about accidentally getting water in James' ears or eyes.

None of it stopped him from trying to be as helpful as possible.

And she was grateful for his attempts, but when she could hear their little bundle crying and carrying on for much longer than it would have taken her to calm him down herself, it made her breasts hurt.

Which had been one of those surprise things you find out about after having a baby.

Her pregnancy itself had been smooth sailing. She hadn't even had any of those weird cravings you heard about pregnant women having, like pickles and ice cream.

She'd begrudgingly taken on desk duty when she was six months pregnant at Harry and Jake's insistence. It was so boring, but she'd managed to lead some training sessions on the less physically demanding topics. Combat Apparation was completely out of the question.

Her mom had actually come down to stay with them for the first week and a half of James' life. It had been great having her there for that first week of confusion, making meals and doing some basic housekeeping tasks while Ginny and Harry both walked around in a daze.

This was grandbaby number eight for her, but her only daughter was the one pregnant, and they'd been corresponding more and more during the pregnancy.

Most of it was Ginny bitching about all the restrictions, and people's questions in relation to her being pregnant.

Her dad had come for a few days as well, then when they both left, and it was just Ginny and Harry with the baby they tried to figure out how they'd manage the baby and some kind of sleep schedule.

It wasn't until about five weeks after the baby arrived that Harry wasn't able to control himself anymore and started pawing at her intently as she tried to fall asleep one night.

While she was pregnant they had still carried on business as usual in that department, meaning continuing to find new positions to pleasure each other in, which was sometimes necessary with how big her belly had gotten near the end. But sex had been completely off her radar until that point, and from the way Harry took her rather demandingly, but enjoyably, he wasn't going to let forget about that aspect of their relationship again.

She'd felt like she had a new body all together and it took a bit for her to get into the groove. Harry was more than happy to help her discover this body she was working with while she tried to lose the baby weight.

He hadn't started bringing up a time frame for baby number two yet, but she knew he wanted a second relatively close in age.

The thought of doing nothing but raising babies for two years straight, especially with the sleep deprivation she was currently dealing with felt more like a sentencing than some idyllic rose-colored glasses idea of family that was preached about in suburban marketing.

She looked down at little James who had fallen asleep now his belly was full.

He was so damn cute.

He'd been this tiny, big eyed gremlin for the first month. Then his head got bigger, his little body developed these adorable chubby rolls in all the right places. He so looked like his father; Dark hair, green eyes, and plump little lips.

Ginny lifted him up and pulled the nursing pillow out from under him. She stood and took him over to his crib, gently changing his diaper before turning him onto his belly, which was the only way he would sleep for longer than ten minutes.

She went back into the bedroom and climbed in, cuddling up beside her husband.

He gave her a sleepy movement, no more than acknowledging he was aware of her presence.

She kissed his stubbly jaw. "I love you." She told him before nuzzling into his chest and falling straight back to sleep.

**August 2010**

"You don't think it would be nice to have more family around? Cousins for them to play with? Babysitters for years to come so we can escape for the weekend and have it be just the two of us?" Harry said seductively as he kissed her bare hip.

He'd been doing a good job of trying to convince his wife that a move back to the U.K. might be something to seriously consider as their two children were entering the pre-school age. He would only start to suggest it when he'd gotten her completely relaxed. After a bubble bath, while he was massaging her back, or just after he'd given her an orgasm, which was how he was trying to convince her now.

After several years together he knew just how much she appreciated it when he spent a decent amount of time with his head between her legs. The way the certain repeated movement of his tongue over her clit, and a little teasing pressure at her rear entrance could make her have an extraordinary finish that seemed just a little more intense than any other position they'd tried.

New Zealand had been great. The adventure sports, the beautiful landscape, and the community around them that they were raising James and Veronica in. But Harry wanted his two kids surrounded by family and had been trying to convince Ginny for a while now that it might be the time to move back to England.

He missed their family.

She'd been fairly receptive to the idea, but he understood her hesitancy.

Things between her and her family had been going really well, especially with her brothers wives. The women all got on great every time they'd made the trip back for visits, or any time one of the branches of the Weasley family had come out to New Zealand for a visit.

She and her brothers had always found something to talk about, but there was always this air of hesitancy that everyone just accepted now as the way that relationship was.

Her mum and dad didn't have that anymore though. They were the warm and wonderful people with Ginny that he'd always known them to be with he and their other children. That had been wonderful to see, and hopefully the forced nature of the relationship with her and her brothers would fade after prolonged contact.

Ginny was still coming down from her high as he climbed up her body, pushing a single finger inside her and twirling it around while he whispered these things to her between kisses placed all over her body. "We could escape to Paris, or Stockholm for a few days here and there, or just stay home and have sex on every surface available until we both collapse." He lined himself up with her entrance and replaced his finger. "With no interruptions."

"Oh God." She moaned as he filled her. "Yes. Fine. Just stop talking." She pulled his lips to hers and hooked her leg over his, rolling them over so she was on top.

Harry loved watching her while she rode him. More so when he knew she was chasing another orgasm rather than just enjoying the ride. The 'enjoying the ride' times were much too pleasurable for him to be able to keep his eyes open for. Not that this style wasn't pleasurable too. Anytime he was inside her felt amazing but watching her flush and go breathless stopped him from accidentally disappointing her.

"Naaaa." She cried out again as she tightened impossibly around his dick.

It felt so fucking good when she came around him. He rolled them back over so he was on top and thrust harder into that incredible tightness, he pulled both of her legs up so she clutched them to her chest while he drove into her.

This always made her moan the loudest, and it was those sounds that really helped him achieve his finish. This position left her completely dizzy, and him completely satisfied. He relished in the sensations of slamming himself deep inside her and having her cry out uncontrollably in pleasure over and over again.

It was maybe three minutes later that he lay completely spent on his back and she snuggled up beside him.

"Okay." She whispered.

"Okay?" He asked not knowing what the word 'okay' meant.

"Okay. We can move back to the U.K."

His brain was still catching up. "Really? You aren't just humoring me?"

"I've been weighing the pro's and con's since you first brought it up." She kissed his chest and snuggled in a little closer. "I'd like to find a house we both like before moving back there so we don't have to impose on anyone, but yes. I think I really am alright with it."

"You think?" He asked tentatively. He didn't want them to move back there and then have her resent him for it.

"That's the best I can do right now." She sighed. "I think I will be okay with it."

He hugged her closer to him and kissed the top of her head. "I'll ask you again in the morning."

**September 2022**

"Mum! Come on."

"Ronnie relax." Ginny told her daughter as she stepped out of the kitchen. "We've got loads of time, and your brother still hasn't put his shoes on." She pointed down to the trainers that had been kicked off in the middle of the entryway again.

"What? I thought he was out in the car already." Veronica stomped upstairs, presumably to find her brother and force him downstairs and out the door.

Ginny slipped her shoes on with a yawn, balancing her travel coffee mug in one hand and ignoring her daughter's drama.

"Damn it James! Your stupid hair is going to look the same no matter what you do with it. Hurry up." Veronica's aggravated voice rang out.

Ginny sighed and wondered if she was going to miss this over the next few months, or thoroughly enjoy the alone time with her husband again.

She didn't bother waiting for her not-so little girl to eventually throw her brother down the stairs, she simply opened the door and went to the car to wait for them with Harry who was wisely already in the driver's seat.

"Are they nearly ready?" He asked tiredly. He wasn't tired given the hour, it was more due to boredom from waiting for his family to pile into the car so he could drop his children off at Kings Cross.

"Getting closer. Ronnie was about to throw James down the stairs when I left." She relaxed into the passenger seat.

"So, they should be out five minutes then." He relaxed too and took her hand, bringing it up to his lips to kiss the back of it.

Ginny gave him a soft smile. They'd been together for 18 years, and he still gave her touches and kisses like this all the time. They'd regularly made the kids nauseous with their displays of affection, but that wasn't going to stop them.

There had been a few rough patches when the kids were younger, two under the age of five had been chaotic, and the stress didn't bring out the best in Ginny. Harry had been a saint really for putting up with her then. But they'd made it through.

Moving back to the U.K. had turned out to be a good idea. Veronica was just beginning to climb on everything then, and they really had needed to have family they could pawn the kids off on to grab a few hours, and sometimes a whole weekend, just to themselves. One of those times it had just been a full weekend so they could complete tasks around the house without a child suddenly tugging on their pant legs.

The house they'd found just outside Cambridge had been a great home for the four of them. And as the kids got older they stopped actively trying to kill themselves by jumping off of things and getting into things they shouldn't have. The chaos receded, and life got kind of peaceful again.

Now both the kids were in school.

James was a Gryffindor, and quite the trouble maker. He and his Gryffindor cousins had basically started a gang of pranksters that had prompted a few family meetings with the professors. But he was doing well with his grades and having the time of his life.

Veronica was in Ravenclaw and joined the Quidditch team as a Chaser in her second year and had already had a few not-serious boyfriends.

The whole extended family was doing well also. Harry and Ginny were still Auror's, though Harry was in line to become Head Auror, and Ginny spent more time training at the Academy than actually being out in the field now.

And they were happy.

Harry tugged on her hand a little bit to make her look over at him. He waggled her eyebrows a bit "Want to snog while we wait?"

**The End**

**()()()**

**Want everyone to know that your favorite Hinny authors have all banded together and created a real life collaboration of original works. It is called 'Into the Mystic' and you can find it through most of your literary sites like Amazon or Barnes and Noble plus several more.**

**Ffn doesn't do hyperlinks, so copy the link below and remove the spaces if you'd like to check it out through Amazon!**

**amazon . com dp/****1938808568/**


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